More than Just Friends
by FriendsEnthusiast
Summary: Ross and Rachel find themselves in a relationship that they never thought they'd have. But when feelings start to arise, are they still friends, or are they something more? Begins in The One With Monica's Thunder. R&R pairing, Semi-Fluff story.
1. Chapter 1

**More than Just Friends**

 **I'm back! Welcome to my second official story! I'm really excited for this one and I hope all of you are too. I've put a lot of thought into the plot and I genuinely believe you all will enjoy it. This story is inspired by many other ones, too many to name, and while it may seem very similar to others; I assure you I've added my own spin on things to make it interesting and distinct.**

 **By the way, for those who don't know, this is an R &R story with a little Mondler in the background (sorry Mondler fans!). I also want to mention that this is a semi-fluff story, meaning its very light and simple with some drama working in the back. It will become far more dramatic in later chapters but for now, it'll feel very much like a fluff story. **

**Warning: This story deals with the mature topic of 'friends with benefits', therefore there will be semi-explicit chapters.** **Younger reader's discretion is advised** **.**

 **I've rambled on enough. I introduce,** _ **More than Just Friends**_ **.**

 **Disclaimer: Yes, my name is actually David Crane and after my successful television show, I've devoted my life to writing fanfictions. (Phff, don't kid yourselves kids.) :/**

 **Chapter 1**

The door to apartment 19 swung open and out walked a woman, high heels clicking as she stepped into the empty hallway and closed the door behind her. Tonight was a special night; tonight was the engagement night of two of her best friends and to commemorate the occasion, they had decided to go out for a celebratory dinner.

Rachel Green looked down at her outfit for the night; a beautiful, elegant black spaghetti strap dress that went down to her knees and matching black heels that gave her an extra inch in height. The dress hugged her in all the right places, making her hips curve out into an hour-glass form, and with the added touch of her make-up, she had to admit, she was looking exceptionally stunning.

Despite her looks, however, Rachel let out a sigh and shut her eyes for a moment, leaning back against the door. Normally she loved feeling beautiful and well-dressed, but at this moment, her looks didn't reflect on how she was feeling at all, and she wasn't exactly sure why.

Monica and Chandler, two of her best of friends, were finally getting engaged! She should be feeling happy! She should be excited about her two friends finally deciding to spend the rest of their lives together! The issue however… was that she wasn't. If anything she was feeling the opposite; sadness, anguish, misery. Those were the feelings she was feeling at the moment.

It wasn't that she wasn't happy that her friends were now engaged. God knows she's been rooting for them from the beginning. But engagements usually leads to marriages, then children, then a family, then everything else that comes afterwards, and she realized that at this moment of her life, she was nowhere near those wonderful things. She didn't have a fiancée, she didn't have anyone to love and for them to love back, hell she didn't even have a boyfriend. She had no one, while her two friends seemed like they had everything she wanted.

She was jealous, plain and simple. Monica and Chandler were moving on with their lives and she was still in the same spot she was 7 years ago; alone, depressed, and left in the dust…

Sudden footsteps snapped her out of her thoughts and her eyes shot open to see who it was. When she turned her head, she spotted Ross walking up the top of the stairs, also dressed up nicely in a fancy suit and tie, with his hair gelled to one side and his face properly shaven. She had to admit that he looked incredibly handsome. He had always cleaned up nicely.

"Wow, you look amazing Rach," Ross greeted when he spotted her, eyeing her up and down.

"Th-thanks," she flustered, unknowingly blushing under his gaze. "You look pretty good yourself."

"Well I better. I don't want Monica freaking out on me if a piece of hair is gelled the wrong way," he joked, pretending to fix his hair and making her laughed.

Ross… now that was an interesting topic. He was the one person she's ever truly loved and the one person she'd ever been able to imagine a life with. But they had loved one another, then hated one another… and loved one another and hated one another again… and again, and never had it really worked out with them. Their history together sounded almost like a fiction novel, yet it was true, and now they had finally found a balance between lovers and haters. They were simply friends with their feelings still up in the air somewhere.

They say you never truly get over your first love, and she wasn't sure if she agreed with that or not, but whether it be the resounding thoughts she's been having or the handsome look he was sporting at the moment, for whatever reasons she was feeling a familiar attraction towards him that she hadn't felt in years.

Rachel cleared her throat, realising she had gone silent in the middle of their conversation. "So, um, can you believe this? Can you believe they are actually getting married?"

"Well sure, but I get married all the time so…" She laughed softly, but not whole-heartedly before falling into another thoughtful trance. This time, he noticed. "Hey, you ok?"

"Yeah, I guess… I…." she slowly trailed off, unsure of how to really say what's on her mind. "…I've just been thinking… ever wonder if _that_ … could have been _us_?"

Ross' eyes widened, taken aback. "U-us? As in, you and me?"

"Yeah, I mean… ever just… _wonder_ …?"

"Well yeah, sure… sometimes…" Ross admitted. "But we… we were like a nightmare, you know, like _ahhh!_ " He waved his hands in the air while chuckling in an awkward way.

"Oh, I know, like we fought over _everything_ ," Rachel joined in, laughing awkwardly along with him.

"Yeah, I mean we were just terrible together," he said a little too blatantly, making her stop laughing. "Oh, no, but there were some good times…"

"No, absolutely, like… there were the dates… and the late nights…"

"…the kissing…," he added.

"Oh of course," she smiled, "the kissing… the cuddling… the _sex_ …"

"The sex…" Ross repeated and smiled, making hers widen. At least she wasn't the only one who remembered the good times of their relationship.

Silence followed as both of them stood in the hallways, small smiles plastered on their faces as it was apparent that they were both thinking about the past. They had shared some amazing memories together, and though they wouldn't admit it openly, they both still thought about it from time to time.

For Rachel, she began to feel a strange feeling increase the more she thought about the past. It was a tingling feeling, almost an urge to do something, and though she knew that it might not be a good idea, her feelings from before and this new urge led her to open her mouth.

"Hey, you know what we never had?" she asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Ross raised an eyebrow. "No…?"

"A bonus night!"

"A what night?"

"You know, a bonus night! Like when two people break up but then get back together just for one night," she explained with a glimmer in her eyes.

"Umm… uh Rach, I don't think that's a good idea…" Ross stuttered. "I-I'm not looking for a relationship…"

"Neither am I, but you know… we're both single and it's just one night…"

"One night… just sex… no strings attached…?"

"No strings attached," she confirmed, giving him a sly, innocent smile that she knew he couldn't resist. She had no idea why she wanted this, but the more she thought about it, the more desperate she was to have this 'bonus night' with him. Maybe her thoughts of the past were making her want to relive some of those moments, or maybe she just wanted some comfort for everything that was happening. Either way, she wanted this, and judging by the look on his face, she knew he also wanted it to.

"Well, um… it does sound appealing…" Ross admitted, "… but… are you sure about this Rach?"

"Sure! I mean, what's the worst that can happen?"

Ross sighed, but then smiled. "Alright then… tonight we'll have our bonus night."

"I knew you'd come around," Rachel smiled, slowly walking towards him and planting a soft kiss against his lips. It's been so long since she's done this, and if the butterflies in her stomach didn't confirm it, she knew she had missed this. A moment later, she broke off the kiss and gave him a little wink. "Just a little preview for tonight."

"Mmm, I can't wait," he hummed, placing his hands on her hips like he used to do. "God, I can't believe we're actually going to do this, on Monica's engagement night nonetheless."

She nodded. "Oh that reminds me, we should probably keep quiet about this. We don't want the others to get the wrong impression and we definitely don't want Monica to think we're stealing her thunder or something."

"Good point," Ross agreed.

They both looked at each other for a moment and shared the same sheepish look. At the same time, they both looked away with blushes on their faces and took a step away from each other.

Ross cleared his throat. "Well, um, I guess I'll see you at the dinner tonight then."

"Yeah, see you then," she answered, not daring to look him straight in the eyes.

An awkward silence passed between them and Ross just nodded, turning around and opening the door to Monica's apartment.

"You coming in?" he asked, holding the door open for her.

"Um, no, I think I left something at my place," Rachel lied before turning around and quickly entering her own apartment.

As soon as she shut the door behind her, she leaned back and exhaled deeply. Did she just agree to have a bonus night with Ross? Or wait, was she was the one to suggest it? She hoped they both weren't making a huge mistake by doing this, although truthfully, her night just became a whole lot more exciting. No longer was she thinking about how much of a failure her love life is, so maybe this is all just for a little comfort. And who better than being comforted by Ross? It's not like they hadn't done it before so really, it's nothing new for them.

She decided to just let the night unfold itself, and whatever happens, happens.

…

The sound of a spoon tapping against a glass rang across the table, getting everyone's attention. Rachel looked across the table, along with everyone else, to see Ross standing and holding up a glass with a smile. She quickly glanced at her watch and saw that it was getting late. If they were going to have their bonus night, they would have to go soon. She wondered what he was up to.

"I know normally we do toasts after the wedding but I just wanted to say a few words," Ross started, clearing his throat and turning towards Monica and Chandler. "If you were to tell me 10 years ago that my best friend and my little sister would end up together, I would have laughed in your face. But now that you two are together, I don't think there's a single person out there who can possibly make you two happier. I've known you guys for as long as I can remember, and I'm so glad you found each other to lean on and journey through life together. You guys are perfect for each other, and I wish you the best for the wedding, and your future." He raised his glass and everyone else followed. "A toast… to Monica and Chandler!"

"To Monica and Chandler!" they all chorused and glasses clinked around the table.

Monica turned and wrapped her brother into a tight hug. "Thank you for that, you're the best brother ever."

"Anything for my little sister," he responded, turning to Chandler. "And you, congratulations man."

Chandler clasped hands with him and accepted the quick embrace. "Thanks Ross. Who would have thought ten years after college I would be engaged to your fat sister," he joked, earning a quick glare from Monica.

Ross laughed. "Oh that reminds me…" he suddenly tugged Chandler forward and whispered into his ear. "… if you ever hurt her, I will personally kill you…"

"I don't plan on it," Chandler answered, laughing nervously.

"Good, then I congratulate you again man," Ross smiled, patting his friend on the back.

A couple more laughs and congratulations were shared around the group before Ross stood up against and began putting on his jacket.

"Hey where are you going?" Monica asked while Rachel eyed him from across the table.

"I've got to get going. I have this important meeting with the board of professors in the morning," he answered, making quick eye-contact with Rachel.

"Oh alright…"

"I think I'm going to get going too," Rachel said abruptly, standing up as well.

"What? You too?"

"Yeah, I, uh, also have this meeting tomorrow," she lied, giving a fake smile. "Sorry Mon."

"Well if you have to then you should go," Monica finally let up, getting up and giving them both a last hug. The others also said their goodbyes as well.

"Bye guys," they waved to their friends as they left the restaurant together. As soon as they stepped outside, they both stood next to each other awkwardly, unsure of how to go about the situation.

"Um... so... uh, we got out of the dinner. Where do we go from here?" Ross asked, breaking the silence.

Rachel shuffled her feet on the pavement. "I guess we go back to your place…?"

"Ok," he said simply before motioning for a taxi.

A few minutes later, they found each other sitting inside a taxi; the awkward tensions still visibly clear between them. They both looked out their respective windows, thinking about what's about to happen once they get to his apartment. Rachel finally cleared her throat and spoke up.

"So, uh, that was a nice excuse you used back there."

Ross turned his head and smiled softly. "Thanks, but it wasn't a total lie. I do have a meeting tomorrow morning."

She just nodded, unsure of how to continue the conversation, and the awkward silence returned.

"You could have pulled yours off better."

"What?"

"You're excuse," he clarified, giving her a look that told her he was teasing. "You could have at least used a different one from mine. It sounded like you were trying to get out of there."

She crossed her arms and pouted. "Well it worked didn't it? Besides, it's not like I've ever done something like this before."

"And you think I have?" Ross raised an eyebrow, and he was right. This was something completely new for the both of them.

Moments later the taxi pulled up to Ross' apartment building and he helped her out without sharing a word. Their little conversation did help the tension but the awkwardness was still there, not that it shouldn't be. This was an awkward thing they were going to do so they had all the right to feel a little uneasy about it all. In complete silence, they walked into his building together.

When they reached his apartment, he quietly unlocked the door and they both stepped in. He hung her jacket up along with his and watched as she silently stepped further into his living room. He had to admit, she looked incredibly beautiful and sexy in her dress, and he couldn't help but stare at her legs as she walked.

Rachel stopped right in front of his couch, looking around before inevitably turning back towards him while keeping her eyes to the ground. She nervously shuffled her feet and rubbed her arm. "So… do we just…"

"I guess so," he responded, looking at her again. There was just something about seeing her so shy and innocent that drove him mad with lust. "Here, I'll start."

Before she could respond, she felt his hands cup her face and his lips connect with hers. It only took a moment for her brain to register what was happening before she began to kiss him back with just as much hunger and emotion. Such a simple kiss turned into something far more ferocious as their mouths battled for power over the other. His hands traveled through her hair then down her back, gently squeezing her butt while hers sensually ran across his chest. He was a lot more muscular than the last time she did this with him.

Time flew by as they both got lost in that kiss and the next time she opened her eyes, she found herself straddling him as they made out on his couch. She felt his hands running up and down her dress in such a way that she wished she didn't have it on. Her hands began to desperately run all over his chest, dying for what was underneath. He caught on and helped her unhook the last few buttons on his shirt and throwing it across the room. She began placing little kisses all over his chest, giving him a little break before moving back up and shoving her tongue into his mouth.

"Rach… bedroom…" Ross muttered through deep breaths and she could only nod her head before connecting mouths again.

Slowly, he hooked his arms beneath her legs and in one fluid motion; he stood up while holding her up. Their lips were still locked, busy sucking and tasting each other as he walked them towards his bedroom. Ross kicked open the door with his foot and set her down on the bed, moving down to her neck and sucking on the sensitive area beneath her ear. Soft moans escaped her mouth as she couldn't help but smile, knowing he remembered her favourite spot to be kissed.

"Ross…" Rachel breathed heavily. "… Don't leave a mark…" He understood and eased up on the sucking, moving back to her mouth and taking her bottom lip between his.

"This needs to come off," he whispered as he pulled at her dress. All she could do was emit a soft hum of approval before turning around and letting him unzip her dress from the back. His soft hand followed the zipper as it went down her body, sending shivers up her spine. Quickly her dress was slipped off and he took off his pants as well so they both were in their underwear.

"You are so sexy," he blew into her ear, tracing the shape of her waist with his finger. She smiled, taking one of his hands and placing them on her breasts. He got the message and started to massage them sensually. She let out another soft moan from his movements and not too soon after, she felt his other hand travel lower and lower down her body.

"Oh my God!" she gasped when she felt him touch her in the most sensitive of spots. She moaned again, this time in a much louder and shaky tone as she felt his fingers enter her, all while his other hand continued its motions on her breasts.

God she loved his hands. If there was one thing that made him incredibly distinct from the other guys she's been with, it was how he used his hands. His touches were so gentle yet rewarding, and he always made sure she was worked up before the actual sex began. After another deep moan, his mouth connected with hers and all she could do was roll her tongue around with his uncontrollably.

Her hands were shaking from the amount of pleasure she was feeling and somehow, she managed to grab a hold of his boxers and began to desperately tug at it.

"Ross… please," she practically begged, completely turned on and at his mercy. "I need you… I need you now."

He didn't need to be told twice. He quickly stopped his touching and removed her bra and panties as she removed his boxers. His eyes trailed her naked body, noticing every curve and every detail of the woman beneath him. He even saw her little heart tattoo on her hip and instantly did his lust for her rise. He reached over to his bed stand and removed a condom from the drawer, slipping it on.

Ross looked back down at her and locked eyes with her, her blue gems glimmering in excitement and anticipation. For a split second, he froze and stared into her beautiful eyes, the whole world disappearing from around them. She was so beautiful.

"Rach…" he whispered just above their breathing, still trapped in their eye-contact, "… are you sure about this?"

Rachel bit her bottom lip and nodded, wrapping her legs around his waist to show that she wanted him, and wanted him bad. He understood and leaned down to give her a passionate kiss before entering inside her.

Her entire body shook at the same time; her legs clutching tightly around his waist, her arms wrapping around his shoulders and her nails digging deeply into his back. With their lips still connected, she moaned deeply into his mouth in which he responded by moaning back into hers.

Slowly he began slipping in and out of her, increasing speed by the moment. Her moans turned into screams and her hands were either clawing at his back or clutching onto the bed sheets. With every thrust, she yelled his name and followed with a deep moan, all of which seemed to be egging him on. She felt him sink deeply inside of her and after that, everything just became a blur.

Though it felt like forever, turned on already, they both only lasted a few minutes before Ross gave one last push and they both finished together. He collapsed next to her and she rolled onto his chest, her sight finally becoming clear again as all that could be heard was their deep breathing. They were hot and completed drenched in sweat, but neither of them really cared. It had been the best sex either of them had in a long time.

"Wow…" Rachel exclaimed some time later once her breathing returned and her heartbeat slowed.

"I know. That was amazing," he reveled, gently stroking her long strands of hair.

She propped herself up on his chest and looked at his face, gently rubbing his cheek. "You are incredible."

"No, _you_ are incredible. I can't even begin to describe how incredible you are."

She felt her cheeks burn up and she smiled, leaning down and gently kissing him on the lips. Her arms wrapped around his torso and she cuddled up against him. She rested her head against his chest and let out a soft content sigh, showing her satisfaction and slowly drifting off on top of him.

Ross looked down at her resting form and smiled, wrapping his arms protectively around her. He used to love moments like these and he still did. It's too bad this may be the last time he'll ever experience something like this again. He softly placed a kiss on the top of her head before turning his head and looking at the time.

"Rach, it's getting late," he said, giving her a little nudge. She didn't budge, however, only hugging him tighter and snuggling closer to him. "Rach you have to go, otherwise Joey will know you didn't go home."

"I want to stay here tonight," she said softly, not opening her eyes. "Besides I saw Joey flirting with one of the waitresses earlier. He's not going home tonight."

Ross couldn't help but laugh. "Well then, let's get some rest."

He shifted into a more comfortable position with her still lying on his chest and threw the cover over them. He shut off the light and sunk back down, wrapping his arms around her small body again. He noticed that they were still naked and wondered how all this would play out. He guessed they'd just have to find out in the morning.

Before he began to doze off, he felt her shift around in his arms and a moment later, felt her soft lips pressed against his.

"Goodnight," she whispered quietly, snuggling back against him.

He smiled. "Goodnight Rachel."

Bonus night was a success.

…

 **Author's Notes: So, there's the first chapter. I decided to add in my own spin on things since I'm sure most of you have watched and/or read the hallways scene multiple times already. Like I said, the beginning will seem similar to many other stories but I assure you I have some stuff prepared that I don't think you've seen yet.**

 **By the way, I'd like to get an input on that sex scene. Was it too much? Too little? Every audience has their own preference so before I continue with this story I'd like to know just how explicit you want these scenes to be.**

 **Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed and are as excited as I am for this story. Be sure to leave a review and your opinion on those explicit scenes. Till next time.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

A week has passed since the 'bonus night' and things have begun to settle down. All the excitement from Monica and Chandler's engagement has finally dispersed and the only significant difference now is the shiny new piece of jewelry on Monica's finger. Phoebe and Joey are doing their own thing, still technically unemployed, but that doesn't seem to bother them much.

And as for Ross and Rachel? Well, things are a bit complicated between them since that night. For the past week, they hadn't spoken much or even had a meaningful conversation. It wasn't like they were avoiding each other, but they also weren't going out of their way just to talk with one another. For them, it was still awkward to see each other when the images of that night were still fresh in their minds.

It was a Friday afternoon, and the friends had gathered in Monica and Chandler's apartment after work to just talk and hang out as they normally do. Phoebe and Rachel were in the kitchen helping Monica cook while the guys watched TV in the living room.

"I'm telling you, we need to go after a wide receiver. Like Tim Brown!"

"No way, the Giant don't have enough money for a big name wide receiver. We have to go defense and get some depth!"

"What? You don't think Strahan is good enough?"

"No, I think the rest of the guys aren't good enough."

Chandler sat there in his arm chair as Joey and Ross argued over what approach the Giants should take in the offseason. He personally had never been into football as much as they were, but he simply nodded along just to not be ridiculed about how 'un-masculine' he was.

"Chandler!" Joey yelled, snapping him out of his short daze. "Can you believe Ross doesn't think our defense is good enough?!"

Chandler blinked. "Um… uh… what?"

"I didn't say that," Ross shot back. "All I said was that it was a bigger need than getting a big name wide receiver. Right Chandler?"

"Uh… I… um…"

"Chandler!" They both yelled in unison, making Chandler sink deeper into his chair.

"Hey!" Monica yelled from the kitchen, getting their attention. "How about you three stop arguing over nothing and help me in the kitchen?"

"Yes ma'am!" Chandler quickly responded, happy to get away from the football talk. Ross and Joey sighed but followed him anyways.

"Ok so here's what you're going to do. Chandler, you're going to cut these potatoes while Ross, you mix these spices into bowl. Joey, you just sit there and don't eat anything." Monica ordered. "Got it?"

The guys nodded their heads and took a seat at the table. Ross and Chandler got to work while Joey sat there with a pout.

"Uh oh. Um… Mon?"

"Yeah?" She turned around to see why Rachel was calling her.

"Is this sauce supposed to be brown?" Rachel asked, holding up the wooden spoon and showing her the discolored sauce.

"NO! Rachel! You burnt the sauce! Did you not turn off the stove when it started to boil?"

"Oh, is that what it meant? I thought the boiling meant it was only starting to cook."

Monica face-palmed. "Urgh! Rach! Now I have to make a new batch! Just sit down!"

"Ok," she said quietly with an ashamed look, taking a seat next to Joey. "You too huh?"

Joey nodded. "I'm so hungry!" he whined. Rachel gently patted him on the back while Ross and Chandler laughed.

"Geez Mon, what's got your panties in a twist?" Phoebe asked as she handed her the freshly washed vegetables.

Monica sighed. "Sorry, it's just that Chandler and I are going to my parents today to tell them about the engagement and I told my mom I'd prepare this pasta for dinner. It has to be perfect."

Chandler's eyes widened. "Wait, that's tonight?"

She gave him a look. "Yes, I told you that this morning."

"I thought you meant next week's today!" He exclaimed, quickly standing up. "I-I gotta go get a haircut! And pick out a nice shirt! And… and…"

"Woah, relax there Chandler," Ross said, calming him down. "My parents like you now, remember?"

Chandler stopped and thought for a moment. "Oh yeah, I guess I forgot," he chuckled softly and sat back down. "There's nothing to worry about then."

"You're still wearing a _nice_ shirt though," Monica warned and Chandler nodded nervously.

"Wait, so if you guys are going to your parents' house today I'm guessing you won't be able to hang out tonight," Rachel pointed out.

"Yeah, we'll be staying the night there so it'll only be you four for tonight. You're welcome to stay here, except I'm pretty sure you'll do it anyways."

"Actually I have an over-night rehearsal tonight so I won't be around either," Joey said, making Rachel frown.

"Me too," Phoebe spoke up. "I have an old friend coming to the city tonight and I promised her we'd do something together. I guess it'll just be you and Ross."

Ross and Rachel looked at each other and made eye-contact. Was it a good idea for them to spend time together so soon? Well, it's not like they had much of a choice, unless they wanted to spend their Friday night alone.

"What?" Monica asked, noticing the strange looks on their faces and awkward silence. "Is there something wrong?"

Ross cleared his throat and broke their gaze. "No, nothing's wrong. We're just real excited for tonight, right Rach?"

Rachel shot him a glance then turned to Monica, putting on a fake smile. "Of course, I can't wait." They made eye-contact again but Rachel quickly shifted her gaze to the ground before things got awkward again.

Monica just looked on, raising an eyebrow but choosing to not question it. "Um… ok. Now how about you guys help me finish this pasta?"

A bit of time later, the pasta was all cooked and everything was ready to be brought over to Long Island. Monica and Chandler went into their room to change while Joey and Phoebe sat around in the living room watching TV. Ross noticed Rachel standing around in the kitchen alone and approached her.

"Hey," he said, snapping her out of her thoughtful daze.

"Huh? Oh hey," she responded, looking away.

Silence followed their quick greetings and they both just stood around awkwardly.

"So, um… about tonight, do you think it's a good idea for us to be together so soon?" he asked quietly so the other wouldn't hear.

Truthfully, Rachel didn't have an answer to that herself. But she did know that she didn't want to spend a Friday night alone and that they'd eventually have to get passed this awkwardness.

"Uh, sure, I don't see why not. We are still friends right?"

"Of course we are. Why wouldn't we be?" Ross gave her a small smile and she smiled back, finally feeling the tension disperse between them. "Alright then, so how about you come over to my place tonight? We can watch a movie or something."

"Ok," she accepted, glad they were able to get past that little bump. "It's a date."

Ross laughed. "It's a date. I'll see you tonight then."

"See you tonight," she repeated.

He gave her a kiss on the cheek and grabbed his jacket from the hooks. "Bye guys," he waved to Phoebe and Joey. "Have fun with your things tonight."

"Bye Ross," they waved back before he walked out the door, closing it behind him.

Rachel looked at the door and touched her cheek where he just kissed her. Perhaps that was a little inappropriate considering what's happened lately, but she figured if he wasn't going to be weird about then neither should she. Their bonus night happened last week. She shouldn't be thinking about it anymore than he is, although it was hard to do so when it was still fresh in her mind. She had to admit, it was fantastic sex. She hadn't had such an intense and pleasurable experience in a while, and a part of her almost wanted to see if it could happen again.

Almost…

…

The kitchen door swung open as Ross stepped out, carrying two glasses in one hand and a large bowl of popcorn in the other. He gently set the items down next to the bottle of wine in the living room just as a knock was heard from the front door. He quickly dusted off his hands and went over to answer the door.

"Hey," Ross greeted when he saw Rachel standing in his doorway. She was dressed in a comfortable shirt with sweatpants and held a large handbag.

"Hey," she said with a smile, entering in as he closed the door behind her. She looked around the living room at his preparations for their movie night, and raised an eyebrow when she saw the large bottle of wine. "Wine? Really?"

"I was out of beer."

"Well I hope you don't expect us to finish this whole thing. I'm not planning on getting drunk tonight," she pointed out, lifting the bottle.

"We'll see about that," Ross said with a wink, making them both laugh.

"So what are we watching?" Rachel asked, plopping herself down on the couch.

"Let's see…" Ross walked over to his cabinet and began pulling out some movies. "Well I've got _Die Hard_ , _Men in Black_ , and the _Jurassic Park_ s, take your pick."

Rachel furrowed her eyebrows. "Got any movies without explosions and dinosaurs?"

He shrugged. "Sorry, Phoebe still has most of mine from when I let her borrow them a month ago."

"Well then it's a good thing I came prepared," Rachel smiled, pulling out a movie of her own from her handbag and handing it to him.

Ross looked at the movie cover and raised an eyebrow. " _Return to Me_?"

"It's a romantic comedy."

"Of course it is," he said, rolling his eyes but put it in anyways.

Ross quickly shut the lights and joined her on the couch; throwing the afghan over them both while she grabbed the bowl of popcorn. He gently poured some wine into the glasses and handed her one of them, earning a small smile.

"Cheers," he said, raising his glass.

"Cheers," she replied, clanging glasses with him. They both took a sip and sat back on the couch as the movie began.

Sometime during the movie, Ross reached for the popcorn just as Rachel did, and they ended up grabbing each other's hands. They both looked down and then looked at each other with hints of blushes on their faces.

"Well this is cheesy," he joked.

Rachel stuck out her tongue playfully and he laughed. She took the bowl of popcorn and placed it in her lap as she moved closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. Ross smiled and plopped a popcorn kernel in his mouth before wrapped an arm around her.

An hour later, the movie came to an end and the credits began to show on the screen. Ross yawned and stretched out his arms, getting up to turn the lights back on. Rachel watched him from the couch, also a little tired herself as she gently swirled the wine in her glass.

"So, how's your week been?" she asked, taking a sip of her wine.

He shrugged. "Ok I guess. I've been a little busy with work, marking papers and all, but other than that it's been alright."

"Well that's good." She swirled her glass around a bit before a smirk appeared on her face. "And how's the date life been?"

"Haha, very funny. You just love knowing about my relationships don't you?"

Rachel gave a mocking smile. "I just want to know what woman has to deal with you so I can give them a little warning."

"Well, I'll have you know that I was with a woman just last week and I don't think she's complaining about me," Ross gloated, sporting a small smirk sitting back down on the couch. "Although I can't quite remember her name…"

Rachel gave him a look. "Really?"

"What? I thought we were passed that."

"We are," she answered, "but you don't have to talk about it."

"Alright then," he shrugged, taking a sip of his own wine as she did the same.

"It was good though."

"What was?" he asked.

"Our bonus night."

Ross raised an eyebrow and gave her a look. "Did we not just agree to not speak of it?"

"Hey, I'm just being honest. Besides, you brought it up first," she countered.

"Well in that case, yeah, it was really good," he said with a smile.

"You know, you're a lot better than the last time we did it," Rachel pointed out.

"How so?"

"I don't know… you're just a lot more… controlling."

"Controlling huh? Well you know, the last time we did it, I was still a little inexperienced. You were only the third woman I've been with, and I've been with a lot more since then," he explained.

"You know what they say, practice makes perfect," she joked.

Ross laughed. "I guess so."

"Well then, maybe next time I'll be the controlling one," she said, giving him a teasing smile.

"Yeah… _next time_ …" Ross downed the rest of his wine. He stood up and grabbed the empty bowl of popcorn as he headed back to the kitchen.

Meanwhile Rachel sat quietly on the couch, pouring herself some more wine as she fell deep in thought. Though she had promised herself not to think about it anymore, she couldn't help but imagine what a second time would be like… and a third… and a fourth…

The more she thought about it, the more she began to question her own mind. Was it really so bad for her to be thinking like this? She's never been one to miss out on anything amazing, and what happened a week ago sure was amazing. Maybe it was wrong for them to ignore something that amazing.

Maybe… just maybe…

When she saw Ross walk out of the kitchen, she decided to let her thoughts speak for themselves. "Hey Ross."

"What's up?" he asked, coming around the couch.

Rachel looked down and played with her glass. "I... I was thinking that maybe… maybe we could have that 'next time'."

She waited for a response but all she got was a blank look. "You're kidding right?"

"Not really," she said in a quiet tone. "I mean, it wouldn't hurt if we… you know… did it again."

"Alright, you've had enough wine for tonight," Ross said quickly, taking away her glass and the bottle.

"Oh come on, don't tell me you haven't thought about it." Now she was really pressuring him. Maybe she did have a little too much alcohol, but from her perspective, she was thinking as clear as can be.

"Even if I have been thinking about it, _thinking_ it and actually _doing_ it are two completely different things! It was a onetime thing. Get over it."

"Oh… ok…" she whispered, looking down sadly. Was she actually sad that he didn't want to do it as much as she did? Maybe disappointed is a better word. Hurt? Either way, she definitely felt like she had just been rejected and that didn't go unnoticed by him.

Ross sighed and sat back down on the couch, taking her hand to get her attention. "Look Rach, I'm not saying that I don't like the idea. I'm sure it would be great, better than great actually, but that's not the point. The point is it would be wrong for us to go through with it again."

"Well why would it be wrong? We're both still single so we wouldn't be hurting anyone. We're both comfortable around each other and it wouldn't be something new for us. And no one would have to know about it or about us."

"Rach, I don't want a relationship…" he said in a whisper.

"And I'm not asking for one. All I'm saying is we could… enjoy each other's company for now." She played with his hand and gave an innocent look. He looked to be deep in thought and she just gave him one last little push. "I know you want this as much as I do, otherwise you wouldn't have continued talking about it."

That seemed to do the trick as he snapped out of his thoughts and gave her a look that was difficult to read. "No one will know about this?"

"No one," she clarified.

"This will just be between you and me?"

"Our little secret."

"And after everything, we'll still walk out as friends."

"Absolutely."

"Then when do we start?" he asked smiling.

"Well... it's only us tonight so why don't we start now?" She moved closer to him until she was straddling his lap, stealing the glass of wine from his hand and downing it in one go.

"You really have had too much of that you know?"

"Tell me that in an hour and I'll see if you're still complaining."

"Oh, I'm sure in an hour we'll be doing far more… _important_ things," Ross said with a smirk, and with that, their lips connected in a fiery passion of lust and hunger.

Their hands traveled across their bodies, knowing each and every curve and crevice off of memory by now. Ross felt her tongue tapping against his lips, asking for entrance, and with a smile he gladly let her in. Their tongues danced around in a synchronized pattern, having done this many times before and now enjoying the feeling of familiarity. Their kissing became addicting and uncontrollable, only breaking for when a breath was needed before their lips smashed together once more.

One thing led to another and soon, they found themselves with their shirts on the ground and both of their bare torsos pressed against each other in a hot and sweaty atmosphere.

"Coach or bed?" Ross asked through their kisses.

"Bed," Rachel answered, stopping their kisses long enough to catch her breath. "We wouldn't want your couch to get all dirty now would we?"

"Bed it is," he said, carrying her in his arms as she placed little kisses on his lips.

In the bedroom, Ross threw her onto the bed, making her yelp as he got on top of her. But before they started anything she flipped them around, catching him completely by surprise, and looked down on him with a teasing look from her straddled position.

Rachel bent down and blew into his ear, feeling something begin to bulge beneath her. "I told you I'd take control this time."

She began to grind against him, shamelessly rolling her hips as she felt his excitement increase. He gasped from her actions and she had to hold in her own waves of pleasure. Lucky for her, his lips came up and connected with hers and they both groaned into each other's mouths.

Soon the pants and the undergarments came off and the condom was slipped on as he watched her naked body above her. She sat back on his stomach and began feeling around his chest, their lips brushing from time to time as they took the time to enjoy each other before anything happened. They made eye-contact and both their eyes showed the excitement and anticipation for what was to come next. She teasingly began rolling her hips again but he wouldn't have any of that as he placed his hands on her waist, making her stop.

"You better start moving or I'll take control," he challenged and she just gave him a little smile.

Rachel gave him one more kiss on the lips before sitting back down, feeling him go deep inside her. She gasped and let out a throaty moan, adjusting to the amazing feeling from below, before slowly moving up and down to pleasure them both.

"Holy shit Rach!" Ross exclaimed, sitting up and kissing her chest. She was going at an unbelievably slow pace that really tested both their capabilities of holding it in.

"I know! I know!" She yelled back, squeezing her eyes shut as she focused on her movements. She felt him suck on her breast and she had to use all her willpower not to be overwhelmed by everything that was happening.

Their 'slow sex' went on for a few more minutes until Ross had enough and placed his hands on her hips to control the speed of her movements. Rachel was more than happy for him to take over as she was practically shaking and clutching onto his body just to stay up. Ross fastened the pace, moving her up and down at a more suitable and less torturous speed while she busied herself in his mouth.

It wasn't long until they both came to climax and finished together. Rachel remained straddling his lap, cupping his face and passionately kissing him to show her satisfaction. When they finally broke for breaths of air they made eye-contact and they both began laughing softly.

Ross pulled her off his lap and brought her to lie on top of him, hugging her from behind. She let out a relaxed sigh and shut her eyes as he gently placed little kisses on her bare shoulders.

"Well, you were right," he said, kissing her neck. "That was incredible."

Rachel smiled and flipped around so she could look at him. "I bet you don't regret doing this now."

"Not at all," he smiled and they met in a soft kiss. Rachel turned back around and relaxed in his arms as he drew little circles on her stomach. "So what are we exactly? We aren't exactly _just_ _friends_ … are we something more?"

"I guess so. We're still friends… we're just friends… with benefits."

"Friends with benefits," he repeated. "Has a nice ring to it."

"Hmmm… I know something else that has a nice ring to it," she hummed, turning around and giving him a sly smile.

"Round two?" Ross offered, although he already knew the answer to that. Rachel just bit her bottom lip and soon found herself thrown to the side and ambushed in kisses.

Their night would go on and feature a third time before they would finally fall asleep in each other's arms. The smell of fresh sex would be the last thing they would smell at night, and the first thing they would smell in the morning. The next day would introduce a start something new and exciting, and with it, their newfound relationship would blossom into something incredible, right beneath their noses.

…

 **Author's Notes: Thanks for the opinions guys. It appears like the majority of you want to see explicit scenes so it looks like that'll be the direction I'll be headed in. For those of you who aren't much of a fan for sex scenes, I wouldn't worry too much about it. I'm trying to find a good balance between detailed scenes and scenes simply left to the imagination. The only times I'll really write explicitly is when I feel like it fits well with the chapter or it's necessary for the plotline.**

 **Oh, also I'm hoping for this story to last around 20-so chapters. Usually fluff stories are longer but since this is a semi-fluff stories, I'm aiming for at least 20 chapters.**

 **Other than that, I hope you enjoyed. Be sure to leave a review and if you have any other concerns, just let me know.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Ok! Here is batch 23!"

Monica carefully placed the tray of freshly baked cookies on the already crowded table. Joey reached over and took one off the top, shoving it all in his mouth at once and swallowing a couple seconds later.

"This one is good too!" he exclaimed, reaching for another one.

Monica frowned. "Joey, you think every batch is good. I should just stop asking for your opinion."

"What's different about these?" Phoebe asked as she took a cookie, as did everyone else.

"No orange peel, a little bit of nutmeg, and a pinch of cinnamon."

Monica looked on hopefully as everyone took a bite out of the cookie.

"Wow, these are really good Mon," Ross approved.

"Yeah, it's like heaven in a little cookie," added Rachel, taking another bite.

"It's good…" Phoebe starting, taking a moment to swallow as Monica looked on, "…but it's still not as good as my grandma's."

"Damn it!" she yelled, throwing her hands up, enraged. "Another failed batch!"

"Woah! Don't you blame the cookies!" Joey said, piling them all closer to him. "Don't worry little guys, you aren't failures to me," he whispered to the cookies before plopping one in his mouth. Everyone just rolled their eyes.

"Honey, don't you think you're getting a little too worked up over some cookies?" Chandler asked, concerned about his fiancée's stress.

"These aren't just _some cookies_!" she countered, startling him a bit. "These are the best cookies that have ever been created and Phoebe's stupid grandma had to die before I got the recipe!"

"You see what you've caused?" Phoebe yelled out, turning towards the ground. "What? Don't blame this on me! You were the one who was so secretive about it!"

Chandler just leaned forward and rubbed his temple. "What is going on?" he questioned rhetorically as Ross and Rachel nodded in agreement, just as confused as he was.

As an engagement gift, Phoebe had decided to give the newly engaged couple her grandmother's secret cookie recipe, as per Monica's request. Unluckily however, it was discovered that the recipe had been burned in Phoebe's house fire months ago and with the last cookie dissolving in Joey's stomach, Monica had no choice but to manually create the recipe through trial-and-error.

But what started as a harmless day of baking cookies has turned into complete and utter chaos. Monica had lost all her senses and was like mad woman, baking cookies left and right. Phoebe, in turn, had also lost it, yelling at the ground as if she was communicating with her deceased grandmother in hell. And right in the middle was Joey, lost in his own little cookie world, whispering little messages to the baked treats before shoving them into his mouth. All in all, things had gone completely south and the three friends who have kept their minds could only imagine how they ended up with people like these to call their friends.

"I need some air," Chandler exhaled, getting up and heading for the balcony.

Ross laughed under his breath and sat back in the chair, closing his eyes to rest a bit until Monica brought out the next batch of cookies. Rachel, meanwhile, just stared at him and smiled. Though everyone was around them, it felt like it was just them two in the room.

For them, things have really begun to fall into place with their newfound relationship. They've been successfully going at it for about two weeks now, and aside from little winks and flirtatious motions here and there, they were confident that their secret was safe from the others. But their relationship wasn't without its risks, and especially as time went on and they have begun to feel a lot more daring with what they did in public, they had to really be careful about what they did in front of their friends.

As Rachel continued to look at Ross across the table, that was exactly what came to mind when a sudden crazy idea entered her thoughts. A small smile appeared on her face and she cautiously looked around to make sure no one was paying too close of attention to them. Seeing that everyone else was indulged with their own things, Rachel carefully slipped her foot out from her shoe and stretched it out under the table until it reached his leg.

Ross' eyes immediately shot open when he felt something rubbing his leg. He looked under the table to see her foot rubbing against his pant leg, rising higher and higher. He looked back up and saw her sporting a sly smile.

"What are you doing?" he whispered, careful not to get the attention of everyone else.

"I'm bored," she answered playfully, sitting lower in her seat so her leg could reach further. Ross looked down to see her foot now in between his legs, gently rubbing an area that was slowly beginning to develop a small bulge. His eyes widened.

"Now? Here?" he practically mouthed. Rachel just bit her lower lip and nodded her head, holding back a smile as she watched him squirm in his seat.

Ross exhaled deeply and closed his eyes, feeling her get more daring between his legs. He wasn't sure if he should be enjoying this or if he should be putting a stop to it. The others were right there only a few feet away from them, though indulged with their own things, one glance under the table could jeopardize everything. But one thing he knew for sure was that what Rachel was doing felt incredible, and to make matters worse, her foot was covered in a thin layer of stockings as she hadn't changed since she got back from work and it was making it all the more sexier. He was having a tough time controlling his excitement.

Rachel watched as his hand balled in and out of a fist and had to giggle. It was obvious he was having trouble keeping himself in check, and especially because Phoebe was sitting right next to him, she was pretty much torturing him from what she was doing. His eyes focused intently on hers as she started to be turned on a little as well, although she wouldn't let him know that. Instead she just nodded and smiled, completely toying with him as her foot continued to make his bulge bigger and bigger.

Eventually Ross couldn't take it any longer and he swiftly grabbed her foot, moving it onto his thigh. He stared her down as he tried to catch his breath, all while she simply giggled from across the table. She enjoyed every bit of his struggle to keep it all together, that little devil her. He noticed her waggle her eyebrows expectantly and followed her eyes to the rather large bulge in his pants. His face immediately turned red and he attempted to cover it up with his hand as she too had to cover her mouth to keep herself from bursting out in laughter.

"Ok! Batch number 24!" Monica announced, getting their attention as she placed the new batch of cookies on the table. Everyone grabbed one except Ross who didn't dare move a muscle.

"I need to use the washroom," Ross said suddenly, turning around as he got up from his seat so no one could see what he was hiding. He gave Rachel the evil eye as he walked awkwardly, almost in a squat-like manner, towards the bathroom. Everyone just looked at him strangely except Rachel, who really struggled to keep her laughter inside.

"What was that all about?" Monica asked.

"Oh, you know Ross… I think he just got a little _excited_ about your cookies," she mused as everyone just nodded, clearly not understanding what she actually meant.

A few minutes later, Ross came back from the bathroom, as did Chandler, and the two men sat down at the table.

"Everything alright Ross?" Joey questioned, seeing that he had been gone for quite some time.

"Huh? Yeah, I just, uh, had to use the washroom," he answered, still a little flustered as he shot Rachel a dirty look. Proud of herself, she happily plopped the rest of her cookie in her mouth.

"So…?" Monica asked expectantly, looking to Phoebe for an answer.

"This is probably the best one yet… but it's still not grandma's."

"Urghh! I give up! This cookie recipe is impossible!" Monica conceded, sitting down in defeat.

"You know, I may have relatives in France that might have the recipe," Phoebe recalled. "My grandmother said that she got the recipe from her grandmother: _Néstlé Toulouse_."

Monica immediately stood up and looked at her in disbelief. "What was her name?"

" _Néstlé Toulouse_."

"Nestlé Toll House?!" Monica shouted, stomping over to the counter and tossing Phoebe a bag of brand name cookies. "Is _this_ the recipe?"

Phoebe scanned the back and gasped. "Yes! This is it!... oh…" Everyone groaned.

"I cannot believe I spent the entire day trying to figure out that recipe when it was in my cupboard the whole time!"

"I know!" Phoebe looked at the back again then to the floor. "See it is stuff like this which is why you're burning in hell!"

"Ughh, I need a nap," Chandler said, heading for the bedroom.

"Me too," Joey said, taking a hand full of cookies before walking out the door.

"I think I'm going to go too," Rachel announced, standing up and heading for the door, however she stopped right before and looked back. "Ross, you coming?"

He looked at her with a confused look but when she raised her eyebrows and motioned for the door, he got the message. "Oh, oh yeah, I'm a little tired myself." He pretended to yawn and joined her in the doorway. "Bye guys, have fun cleaning up all of that."

They walked out the door, leaving Monica and Phoebe to deal with the mess in the kitchen. As soon as the door closed, Ross turned around and was immediately attacked by Rachel who jumped into his arms and pushed him against the wall as her mouth smashed against his.

It took a moment for Ross to catch up too everything that was happening, but as soon he did, he kissed her back and gently set her down on the floor.

"Jesus Rach, what's gotten into you today?"

"I don't know," she answered, swinging his hands playfully as she leaned up and kissed him again. "I guess I'm just a little bit… horny today."

"Horny huh? Well then, we better take care of that, shall we?" Ross whispered against her mouth.

Rachel smiled. "Oh, we shall."

They engaged in another fiery kiss until Ross broke it again, knowing that if either doors swung open, their secret would be exposed.

"Let's get out of here," he suggested, and she nodded in agreement. He quickly checked the time on his watch. "Alright, well we have about an hour before the guys will probably want us back to do something."

"Hmm, I think an hour will be long enough," she hummed. "Your place or my place?"

"My place. Joey's taking a nap remember?"

"So? When Joey sleeps, he's out like a log."

"Yeah, well, with the noise you make, I doubt any log could sleep through that," Ross joked, earning a slap on the arm.

For a quick moment, the two of them paused and simply gazed into each other's eyes, seeing the anticipation they held until Ross grabbed her arm, snapping them both out of their dazes and motioned towards the stairwell. Rachel smiled and together, they ran down the stairs trying to get to his apartment as quick as possible.

…

Just about an hour later, Ross and Rachel walked into Central Perk with small knowing smiles on both of their faces. Spotting their friends sitting on the couches, Rachel began making her way over before Ross stopped her with a tug from behind. She spun around and gave him a look to which he answered by discreetly pointing at her clothes. Rachel blushed lightly, quickly flattening out her skirt before anyone took notice and the two join the others around the coffee table.

"Hey, where have you guys been?" Monica asked as they took a seat on the orange couch.

"Well, I had to go home and do some marking," Ross answered easily, haven already come up with an answer before.

"And I went to do some shopping," Rachel smiled, also having an answer prior to coming here.

"Oh? What'd you buy?" Monica asked as she took a sip of her cocoa, making her freeze.

"Uh… I… uh…" she quickly glanced at Ross for help but he shook his head and looked away. "…um… you know…. just some clothes and stuff…"

"Where are they?" Phoebe chimed in and Rachel swallowed.

"Um… actually I returned it all," she said, attempting to laugh it off. She had never been a good liar.

"Well that's not hard to believe," Chandler joked, making everyone laugh and Rachel let out a sigh of relief. She felt Ross elbow her lightly on the arm and she gave him a small, embarrassed smile.

"Anyways, like I was saying, now that the cookie disaster is behind us what are we going to do for the rest of the night?" Monica asked the group.

"Ooh, we should go sky-diving!" Phoebe suggested, earning strange looks from everyone.

"Where are we going to go sky-diving at 9 at night?" Chandler questioned.

"Oh, I don't mean today. Like some other time."

"Ok… but Pheebs we're talking about what to do _tonight_."

"Oh, ok well in that case I got nothing," she said, sitting back down in her seat.

"Hey, I hear _American Pie_ is playing at the theatre. Maybe we can go watch that," Joey suggested.

"That's a great idea Joe. A co-worker of mine told me that movie was hilarious," Chandler commented.

"Alright, you guys up for a movie?" Monica asked the rest of the group.

"Sure," Phoebe agreed.

"A movie sounds good to me," Rachel said.

"Me too," Ross added.

"Great! I'm pretty sure if we leave now, we should be able to catch the showing at 9:30."

The group cleaned up their things and headed out the door. Chandler, Joey, and Monica left first and Ross and Rachel were right behind them when Ross felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Hey Ross, could I talk to you for a second?" Phoebe asked. Rachel raised an eyebrow and gave him a look, but confident that this wasn't about their secret he waved her off, telling her to go ahead without him. She gave him one last look before leaving the coffee house as Ross turned to Phoebe.

"Sure, what's up Pheebs?"

"Ok so you know how Chandler and Monica got engaged right?"

"Yeah…?"

"Well, I was just thinking that maybe it'd be nice if they had some privacy, you know? So I was wondering if I could move in with you for about a month or so, at least until I can move back to my house once it's fixed."

Ross opened his mouth to say something when he suddenly paused. Now normally he'd let one of his friends stay with him without a second thought, but with his and Rachel's thing looming in the background, things were a lot more complicated. Maybe it was a bit selfish for him to think like this but he also had to wonder if Rachel would be ok with Phoebe moving in with him. After all, it was a lot easier to sneak around since he lived alone but with Phoebe, that would make things a lot more difficult.

However despite the complications, a short moment later Ross made up his mind. What kind of friend would he be if he wouldn't let her stay with him? Besides, it's not like he had a proper excuse to say 'no' in the first place. He only hoped that Rachel wouldn't be too mad about his decision.

"Of course you can stay with me Pheebs," he said with a smile.

"Really? Oh, yay!" she exclaimed happily. "Ooh, this is going to be so much fun! We can stay up late and watch movies and stuff!"

Ross laughed. "Sure, sounds like fun." He glanced at the clock on the wall. "Speaking of movies, we should probably catch up to the others."

"Oh you're right, let's go."

They left Central Perk together and outside they began heading towards the theatre, the rest of the group a little further ahead. At that moment, Rachel looked behind her and spotted them trailing behind. She slowed down a bit so she could talk with Ross while Phoebe sped up to catch up with the others. Eventually it was just them in the back while everyone else was up ahead.

"So…? What did she want?" Rachel questioned once she knew Phoebe was out of ear-shot.

"Relax Rach, it was nothing about us," he said, calming her nerves. "Pheebs just suggested that maybe it'd be a good idea for her to move in with me so Monica and Chandler can have their privacy."

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what did you say?"

"Well I said yes."

"Oh."

Ross noticed her staring at the ground, obviously thinking about what he had realised earlier. He gently took her hand to get her attention.

"Rach, it's only for a month."

"I know…" she said, playing with his hand, "…but what about this thing that we're doing?"

"Well we can still keep doing it if you want, it'll just be a little more complicated. We'll figure something out."

"You really think we can hide in plain sight?"

He snorted. "You're one to talk after what happened at Monica's apartment."

A smirk appeared on her face. "Oh shut up, you loved it."

"And I'm sure you _loved_ what happened afterwards back at my apartment," he countered.

"Ooo-Kkk," she teased him, walking ahead a bit.

As she came ahead of him, he gently reached down and gave her a little pinch on the butt, making her jump.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, failing at concealing her smile. Ross just smiled and pinched her butt again, making her jump a second time. "Stop that! You just can't get your hands off me, can you? Now who's the horny one?"

Ross just chuckled and walked her in front of him, placing his hands on her hips as he leaned down to her ear. "I'm _always_ horny for you," he whispered seductively, gently biting her ear-lobe and sending shivers down her spine.

Rachel cautiously looked ahead to make sure the others weren't watching before spinning around in his arms to look at him, walking backwards with their slow pace.

"Well that's funny because so am I," she responded, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning upwards for a kiss.

Shortly after, Rachel returned to her spot next to him as they walked together, hands brushing slightly with every step.

"You like previews?" he asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Do you like previews?" Ross repeated.

The second time around she got what he was referring to and smiled. "Oh, I absolutely _hate_ previews."

"Good, so I was thinking maybe we should skip those and do something a little more… enjoyable…"

"Hmm, I think I'd like that very much," she hummed, looking at him with eyes full of lust. Ross shared the same look, grinning like an idiot as he grabbed her hand and gave it a little squeeze.

"Hey slowpokes!" Ross and Rachel snapped out of their lustful looks to see Monica hollering at them from up ahead. "Hurry up or we're going to miss the movie!"

The two of them shared a look and laughed before walking a little faster to catch up to the others. But while everyone else was eager to get to the theatre, Ross and Rachel had their own plans to look forward to…

…

 **Author's Note: Just a short little chapter. I'm really not much of a fluff writer but I'm learning. I actually had a little writer's block with this so I took a mini-vacation to help ease my mind. Hopefully future chapters will come a little easier but nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

All was silent in the apartment hallway. Not a door was open, not a person was walking; all was silent.

Suddenly faint laughter echoed through the hallway from the stairwell and moments later, Ross and Rachel burst up the stairs, giggling and grabbing onto each other as they ran through the corridor towards a very familiar door.

"Shh, shh!" Ross hushed through his smile as he grabbed his key. "The neighbors are going to come out if we're not quiet!"

Rachel nodded but kept her smile. "You sure Phoebe isn't home?"

"Yeah, she told me she'd be out, which means we can have all the _fun_ in the world."

Rachel giggled quietly and grabbed onto his arm as he unlocked the door and pushed it open. As they stumbled in, they were completely caught off guard when they found the apartment covered in scented candles with Phoebe right by the doorway, back turned towards them as she massaged an old man lying on her massage table.

"Phoebe?!" Ross questioned, making her turn around. He quickly dropped Rachel's hand as she took a step to the side.

"Oh hey guys! What's up?" she asked cheerfully, oblivious to the shocked looks on their faces.

"Phoebe, what are you doing here? You told me you'd be working tonight!"

"I am, see?" Phoebe answered, motioning to her client. The old man groaned and began to move a little to which Phoebe gently patted his back. "No no, just relax Mr. Edwards."

Ross felt a sudden pain in his side and looked to see Rachel hitting him with her elbow, her smile now faded and replaced with an evil look.

"Phoebe, you can't massage people in my apartment," Ross said.

"What? Why not? I did it at Monica and Chandler's."

"And they knew about it?" he questioned.

"Um… well… not really…" Phoebe looked down and shuffled her feet. "But I don't see the big deal about it."

"The big deal is that I don't want to come home to find a naked, greasy stranger in my apartment, and I'm sure if Monica and Chandler had known, they wouldn't have allowed this either."

"Ok fine, fine. Mr. Edwards, it seems like I'm going to have to cut your appointment short today." The old man grunted and Phoebe handed him a bigger towel as he sat up. She turned back towards Ross and only then did she spot Rachel with him. "Hey wait a minute, what are you two doing here anyways?"

Ross and Rachel looked at each other nervously.

"We, uh… we were just going to-"

"-watch a movie!" Rachel finished, shooting him a quick glance. It was clear she was not happy about this and he knew he'd be getting an ear-full afterwards.

"Ooh, a movie! That sounds like fun!" Phoebe exclaimed. "I just rented this new movie from the store. Can we watch that?"

Rachel frowned and Ross noticed, but there wasn't much he could do about it. "Um, yeah sure Pheebs, anything's fine."

"Oh yay!" she joyed, digging into her purse for the movie. "Mr. Edwards, how would you like to watch a movie to make up for your massage?"

"That sounds pleasant dear," he answered, lying back down on the massage table facing the TV. "Boy, I hope Gary Cooper is in this."

As Phoebe busied herself with setting up the movie, Rachel reached over and gave Ross a quick punch to the arm before plopping herself down on the couch with a huff. Ross rubbed his arm and let out a sigh. She had every reason to be angry with him. Neither of them had planned on spending their night like this.

With another disappointed sigh, Ross joined her on the couch as Phoebe hurried to the kitchen for some popcorn.

…

The night went on as the movie progressed. Ross and Rachel remained relatively quiet, sitting on the couch by themselves. Phoebe, meanwhile, sat in the comfortable chair off to the side with a bowl of popcorn in her lap while Mr. Edwards lay on the massage table, commenting on the movie every so often.

"See, now back in my day we didn't have cars," the old man started again as a car drove across the screen. "When we wanted to get somewhere, we would walk. We didn't have these techno-mabobers you youngsters have today."

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "That's very nice Mr. Edwards but you don't need to comment on the movie."

The old man simply shook his head, mumbling to himself something on the lines of 'young people and their short attention span'. Phoebe heard him and chuckled, plopping a popcorn kernel in her mouth as she turned back to the movie, but as she turned something caught her attention in the corner of her eye and she shifted her focus that way.

On the couch was Ross and Rachel, obviously, but what really stood out was an unusual closeness. In fact, Rachel was practically leaning into him while his arm was snaked behind her back and rested on her waist. Phoebe simply smiled at the two of them. They had such a strong connection; she couldn't believe they still weren't together. Her beliefs in her lobsters one day getting together were still there, and this image of them practically holding onto each other proved it.

Little did she know that they indeed were together but in a different way, and at that moment they were struggling to keep their hands off each other. They had originally planned for a night of hot and steamy sex which seemed to have raised both of their hormones and in turn, made this movie completely torturous for the both of them. And while Rachel was still ticked off about this whole situation, she couldn't help but rub his thigh or grab his hand once in a while, which he would respond by given her butt a little pinch or gently stroking her waist. But that was all they could do as Rachel was sitting only a few feet away and her client's massage table was right next to the couch.

Eventually the movie came to an end and Phoebe stood up to stretch out her arms. Ross was going to do the same but realised that Rachel had dozed off on his shoulder and was quietly resting against him, so he remained seated. He saw Phoebe looking at them with a small smile and he worried if their position would give off any signs or hints, but luckily a loud yawn erupted from beside him which got both of their attentions. They chuckled as they watched the old man groggily sit up and stretch out his jaw.

"Come on Mr. Edwards, I'll give you a ride home," Phoebe offered, helping him off the table.

"What year is it?" the old man asked, blinking a few times.

"It's 2001," Phoebe answered laughing, dragging him towards the door. "Now let's go. My taxi's just outside."

"Ooh, I like taxis. Have I ever told you about the time where my taxi driver took me to the wrong dest-"

The old man's speech was cut off as the door shut behind him, leaving Ross chuckling to himself. He turned his attention back to Rachel and her resting form. He smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. It was too bad they didn't get to do what they actually wanted to do tonight, but maybe with Phoebe gone for a little while, they still had time to do a little something…

Rachel woke up to the feeling of a soft pair of lips sucking against hers and she groggily sat up, seeing Ross smiling at her.

"What time is it?" she questioned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"That doesn't matter. What matters is that Phoebe's gone for a little while which means we have the apartment all to ourselves," he answered smiling, leaning down to start kissing her neck.

"Ughh, Ross not tonight," Rachel said, gently pushing him away.

Ross stared at her blinked. "What?" he asked in a confused tone.

"I'm just not in the mood anymore."

"What?" he asked again. "You sure were in the mood while the movie was playing."

"Yeah, well now I'm not. If anything, I'm completely turned off so I think I'm just going to head home," Rachel replied, standing up.

"You're going to leave? Rach, Phoebe's gone. This is like the one chance we have at doing something tonight."

"Well then maybe you should have thought about that before," she responded bitterly.

Ross, who was completely stunned, just sat there with his mouth hanging open. Was she really this upset that their night was ruined? It wasn't even his fault really. How was he supposed to know Phoebe would work from home?

"Are you seriously going to go?"

"Yes, I'm tired and I'm just really not feeling it tonight, ok?" Rachel answered, heading for the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Uh, yeah, see ya," he said as the door shut behind her.

Ross groaned and sunk down in his couch. How he managed to ruin a night of sex, he would never know. He just hoped Rachel wouldn't be too upset for long.

…

Rachel sat in her office, typing away at her computer as she worked on a presentation due in the next week. As she continued to type, she fell into that strange trance where your hands type something but your mind just completely drifts off, and her mind just so happened to drift off onto last night.

Thinking back, she wasn't nearly as angry as she thought she was but she sure as hell was disappointed. It's not that she doesn't like hanging out with Phoebe or anything, it's just that when she plans on spending the night in a man's arms, she tends to actually _want_ to end up doing that. Not spending her night watching a movie she didn't really want to watch in the first place with Phoebe, an old man, and her lover who was forced to be careful of how he touched her.

She wasn't really sure if she should be blaming Ross for what happened or not. It wasn't really his fault for not knowing Phoebe would be home, but at the same time, he should have had more clarification before telling her he had the apartment to himself. Then she thought about how their night ended and she began to think that maybe she should apologise for how she left so abruptly. She hadn't seen him all day and she worried that maybe he was angry with her now.

Suddenly a knock on the door brought her out of her trance and she stopped typing.

"Come in!" she said, a little confused as to who would be visiting her at this time.

A moment later the door swung open and she was totally surprised to see Ross walk into her office holding a single white lily in his hand. He gave her a smile and closed the door behind him.

"Ross? Wh-what are you doing here? How did you even get in here?" Rachel asked, flustered.

"Your new secretary let me in. I just said that I was part of upper-management and he let me pass."

Rachel shook her head. "Ughh Tag, I knew I shouldn't have hired him for his looks…"

Ross raised an amused eyebrow. "His looks? Should I be worried about you sleeping with him behind my back?"

She laughed and managed to crack a smile, walking around her desk. "Ok seriously, what are you doing here?"

"Well, first I came to give you this," he said, handing her the lily.

"Thank you," she smiled, accepting the flower and lifting it to her nose to inhale the smell.

"You're very welcome," Ross said, giving her a small smile before taking her hands in his. "And I also came to apologise for what happened last night. I know that's not how you wanted to spend our night together and it's my fault for risking our secret by not knowing Phoebe would be there."

"No Ross, that's not your fault. There was no way for you to know Phoebe would be having her clients at your apartment. If anything I should be apologising to you for how I left things. I shouldn't have left when we finally had time to ourselves. I guess my emotions just got the better of me and I thought I was too angry to do anything when really I wanted to do stuff just as much as you did."

Rachel gently cupped his face with her hand and smiled into his eyes as he did the same. Their lips met in the middle and they held the kiss for a moment before breaking and staring into each other's eyes once more.

Ross chuckled a bit. "Well then, I accept your apology, but I guess if you're the one apologising to me than I don't have to make it up to you anymore."

She perked. "Make it up to me? Well in that case I take back my apology because this is all your fault."

He laughed. "That's what I thought. So what do you say to make it up to you I take you out to _lunch_?"

A mischievous smile appeared on Rachel's face as she wrapped both her arms around his neck. " _Lunch_ huh? What are we having?"

"Well that's a surprise, but I've had it before and I assure you you'll love it."

"Hmm, well then tell me, how _good_ is it?"

"Oh it's the best you'll ever have and it's absolutely delicious," he replied, making her giggle. "And afterwards it'll feel so good that you'll be begging for more."

All this dirty talk was really starting to get her heart beating as her heightened hormones from yesterday seemed to return. He also seemed just as turned on as she was but she had one more tease up her sleeve.

"Mmm, well that sounds amazing but unfortunately I don't go on break for another half an hour so you might have to wait until then."

He smirked, seeing right through her tease. "Oh, well you see that's the best part."

"It is?" she asked.

"It sure is," Ross replied, his voice turning to a more sultry tone as he slowly backed her up to her desk. "Because you see, _lunch_ was already pre-ordered and it's ready right now… and the _best_ best part is that _lunch_ …" he leaned towards her ear, "… cannot wait."

She had no idea Ross could be so tantalizing but she loved it, and at that moment if she didn't have him then she felt like she would literally explode from being so aroused.

"Well," she started, whispering into his ear now. "I say… let's eat."

With that, Ross pushed all of her pages and documents off her desk and in one smooth motion, he picked her up and threw her on the table, attacking her mouth with his. Their kisses were filled with lust and hunger as they practically tried to eat each other's tongues. They had both longed for the taste of the other's mouth since yesterday and now that they had it, it was like a drug they could never stop being addicted to.

"Ross," she panted through their kisses. "The door!"

He smiled against her mouth before attacking her with another fiery kiss. "Don't worry… I already… locked it… when I… came in here."

Rachel smiled as well and stopped their kisses, looking him dead in the eyes with her own filled with lust and attraction. "Then you better take me now because I've never wanted you more than I do now."

"Yes ma'am," he said, and with that, their clothes swiftly came off and a minute later he plunged himself inside her.

Soon the room was filled with screams of delight and of heavy breathing as they finally got to do what they wanted more than 12 hours ago. Rachel thanked the lord for a sound-proof office while Ross really just couldn't think of nothing else except making this woman scream louder.

About half an hour later they both collapsed on Rachel's desk, panting heavily through their uncoordinated kisses. Their bodies were drenched in a thin layer of sweat and with their clothes and documents thrown all over the ground, it looked like a tornado had hit Rachel's office.

"Maybe we should not have sex more often," Rachel joked through her heavy breathing.

Ross chuckled. "Maybe… but I know if I won't be able to handle that so maybe we shouldn't."

She smiled and gave him another kiss before her eyes found her clock on the wall. "Well would you look at that. It's finally my lunch break but it seems like I already ate."

Ross looked at the clock than glanced back at her with another smirk that she was starting to enjoy seeing.

"What?" she asked with a smile.

"Didn't I tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"That this was only the appetizer."

…

 **Author's Notes: I feel like there have been way too many movies so far so I'm making a mental note to cut down on those.**

 **Also For those of you wondering, I decided to cut the 'scene' in this chapter short as I didn't feel the need to go in depth with this one. I did, however, try to make it up with the dialogue exchange and what-not.**

 **By the way, I'm not a sex-addict, nor am I a dirty minded person. Believe me this chapter pushed me to another level I didn't know I had so… uh… enjoy!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Ross fixed his collar and combed his hair as he glanced at himself through the mirror. He smiled, looking himself up and down before grabbing the bottle of cologne and spraying a little bit of the fragrance on his inner wrists and neck.

Tonight marks exactly one month since he and Rachel began their 'friends with benefits' relationship and they had decided to make their one-month anniversary a special night. He and Rachel were to dress up nicely, mostly to try to woe the other, and when they were sure the others were off doing their own thing he would sneak over to her apartment. It was going to be a night of incredible, passionate sex and he couldn't wait.

As he continued to polish himself up his mind slowly drifted off to how far they've gone with this strange relationship. Truthfully, he couldn't believe they had gone a month without anyone finding out about them, though that's not to say there hasn't been any close calls. There was the time they were making out on her couch when Joey came home, or when they had been doing it in the bathroom and Phoebe had begun knocking on the door. All in all, they were lucky to come out un-scathed but they also had to admit that the excitement in hiding it from their friends made the sex all the more enjoyable.

Tonight was to celebrate exactly that, and with Phoebe's house a week away from being refurbished, it was also to celebrate the future and whatever it may hold for them.

Ross was busy fixing up his sleeves when he heard a knock on his front door and he walked out of his bathroom confused. Phoebe wasn't home tonight as she was out doing whatever she normally does and he wasn't expecting any visitors. He carefully unlocked the door and opened it, and without any warning Chandler walked right in.

"Woah, hello," he said, caught a little off guard.

"Ross I need your help," Chandler said, turning to him with a worried look.

"Um, sure, what do you need?" he asked, sensing his tone.

"Ok, so I just got a call from my boss asking me to have dinner with this lady who's interested in investing in the company. He wants me to meet her at the plaza tonight to talk up the company but I was planning on taking Monica up to Vermont for the weekend to celebrate our anniversary."

"Anniversary?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I thought that was in May."

"No, the _other_ anniversary…"

Ross thought for a moment. "The other anniversary…? Oh… EWW, Chandler that's my sister! I don't want to know about that!"

"Hey, you're the one who asked," he shrugged. "But that anniversary might not even happen if you don't help me out here Ross."

"Hold on, you want _me_ to go to this dinner for you?" Ross asked, a little surprised by what he was being asked of.

"Yes, please Ross I'm desperate here," Chandler begged.

Ross rubbed his forehead as he thought about his options. If he agrees to the dinner then he'll have to cancel his anniversary with Rachel. At the same time however, if he doesn't accept the favour then Chandler and Monica would miss their anniversary and knowing his sister it would be a long weekend.

"Can't you get Phoebe to do this instead of me?"

"You think I trust Phoebe to meet with an investor?" Chandler replied, and he couldn't really argue. "Ross, all you have to do is represent me and my company. You don't have to know anything, you just need to be nice and have proper manners. Look, you're already dressed up and everything."

Ross looked down at his clothes and cursed himself silently. "Ughh… Chandler…"

"Please Ross, what do you want me to do? You want me to beg? I'll beg you if I have to!" Chandler pleaded, going down on his knees. "Look! I'm on my knees right now! Please Ross-"

"Ok! I'll do it!" he finally gave in, rubbing his forehead as he let out a sigh. Rachel was not going to be happy.

Chandler immediately got up and surprised him with a tight hug. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Dude, I owe you one big time!"

"Yeah you do," he mumbled, breaking the hug.

"Hey, think of the bright side. You haven't been on a date in what? Over a month? This can get you started back up again."

"Oh yeah Chandler, that's exactly how I wanted to spend my night. With a date I didn't want to have any part of in the first place," Ross answered sarcastically.

"You'll thank me later," Chandler joked, giving him a pat on the back as he headed back out the door. "No but seriously Ross, thank you."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he muttered. Suddenly he thought of something and turned back to his friend. "Wait Chan."

"Yeah?"

"What do you actually do for a living?"

Chandler shot him an annoyed look. "I'm a statistical analysis and data reconfiguration manager."

"A what?"

"A statistical analysis and data reconfiguration manager!"

"You know what, I'll just say you work with numbers," Ross concluded and Chandler just shook his head.

"Have fun on your date," he said before closing the door behind him.

Ross looked at the door and sighed. There goes his night. He couldn't believe he was going to have to cancel on their month anniversary just so his little sister could go have sex! Sometimes this secret relationship sure had its downsides.

As he walked to the phone to make the dreaded phone call, he thought about how he was going to tell Rachel. She was going to be really upset, he knew that already, but maybe it might be better if he left out the part about having dinner with some lady investor. Knowing her, she might not take it the right way and he really didn't want for her to get upset even more than she already will.

…

Rachel walked around her apartment, fixing an earring as she lit the candles to set the mood of the room. She had spend the last hour prepping for their anniversary, picking out a nice, semi-revealing mini dress that showed off a bit of her cleavage and putting on just a bit of make-up. She even spent some time to carefully straighten out her hair, knowing that Ross likes it when she lets it down to her shoulders.

She looked around the apartment, seeing the romantic setting she created and smiled. She expected to have some really good sex tonight, and with the two 'special' dice she had picked up earlier sitting on the counter, she was sure to make that happen.

Suddenly the phone rang and her smile grew when she saw the caller ID. She wasted no time in picking it up.

"Hey baby," she greeted with a sultry tone.

"Hey Rach, listen-"

"When are you coming over?" she asked, cutting him off. "I have the whole place set up for us tonight and I've got this _sexy_ mini dress on for you."

Ross gulped but forced himself to continue. "Rachel, listen, that sounds amazing but I'm going to have to cancel for tonight."

Her face dropped. "What?"

"Yeah, I'm really sorry Rach but the university called me in for an important meeting and I have to go to it," he lied, biting his tongue on the other end.

"What? But tonight's our one-month anniversary! I even bought these sex dice just for tonight!" she complained.

"Rachel, I'm so, so sorry but there's nothing I can do. It's a mandatory meeting." Silence followed his response and Ross began to worry. "Rachel? Are you still there?"

"Yes," she answered quietly and he felt a sting in his chest. He could head the sadness in her voice.

"Are you going to be ok? You're not mad at me are you?"

"No! No, of course not!" Rachel replied. "It's not your fault. If you have to go to a meeting then go to the meeting. I'll be ok."

Ross gulped again, but this time more out of guilt than anything. "Ok, well I've got to go. I'll talk to you later, ok?"

"Ok, bye."

"Bye."

Rachel heard him hang up and she looked at her phone, sighing sadly and placing it on the counter. She grabbed the sex dice and rolled them around in her hand before gently closing a fits over them.

 _Something for another time_ , she thought.

As she began blowing out the candles the door swung open and in walked Chandler, unknown to her looking a lot more cheerful than how he looked at Ross' place.

"Woah, someone looks pretty tonight," he greeted, grabbing a beer from the fridge and joining her at the counter.

"Hey Chandler," she said in a dejected tone, something that didn't go unnoticed.

"What's wrong Rach? Did something happen?"

She sighed. "No, nothing happened. I guess I'm just a little sad that I'll be spending my Friday night alone."

"Hey, what about Phoebe? I'm sure she'll be around," Chandler suggested.

"No, she told me she's visiting some of her old street friends tonight. The Joey has his rehearsal, you and Monica have your trip, and Ross just called to tell me he'll be busy tonight."

Chandler smiled. "Yeah, I know. I'm glad he's finally going out again."

Rachel froze. "What?"

"Yeah, don't tell him but I was starting to think he was turning gay or something," he chuckled, obviously to the Rachel's shocked expression on her face.

"Ross is on a date?!" she practically yelled.

"Isn't it great?" Chandler continued to chuckled, unknowingly by himself. He checked his watch and downed the rest of his beer. "Anyways, I've got to get going. I'll see you on Monday Rach."

Rachel didn't respond, or more like couldn't respond, as she just stood there frozen and watched as Chandler closed the door behind him. She felt her anger boiling inside of her and slowly her stunned look began to turn into an angry one.

Ross was on a date! She couldn't believe it! She knew that they never really talked about whether they could date while their relationship still went on, but she assumed that they _would_ talk about it before any of them actually did. Not only that but he lied to her! He made up some stupid lie about an important meeting when really he was cancelling on her so he could go on a date with another woman, and she believed him too! She trusted him and he stabbed her in the back!

Rachel was furious. The last time she was this angry, it was when she found out Ross had cheated on her on their anniversary. Ironically, it was happening again! By the same guy on a different anniversary! She could have sworn that if Ross was standing right in front of her then she would have killed him by now.

In a fit of rage, she whipped the two dice across the room and watched them smack against the opposite wall and fall to the ground. If Ross wanted to date behind her back, then so be it, but there was no way she was going to just stand around and let him push her around like that.

If he was going to date, then so was she. Then they would see who the real push-over is in this relationship.

…

The next day Ross walked into Central Perk with a slight frown on his face. He noticed his friends sitting around the couch as usual and went over to them.

"Hey guys, have you seen Rach around?" he asked.

"I saw her in the morning but then she left for work," Joey answered.

"Yeah, I think she's been out all day," Phoebe added. "Why do you need to see her?"

"No, it's nothing. I just need to talk to her about something," he said, taking a seat on the couch with a huff.

It was almost 5 in the afternoon and he hadn't seen her at all today. He had tried calling her and even went to visit her at her office on his lunch break, but both instances he was left with her voicemail or was told she was in a meeting. He needed to make sure she wasn't upset about yesterday but it seemed like she was almost avoiding him. And with her not making any kind of effort to speak with him either, he was really beginning to worry.

He sighed just as Gunther walked over to clean the table. "Hey Gunther, could I get a coffee?" he asked.

"Yeah sure, whatever," he grunted, walking back to the counter. Ross knew he never really liked him but at the moment he had too much on his mind to really care.

A moment later Gunther returned with his coffee and Ross simply gave him a fake smile. He sipped his coffee and decided to just wait for Rachel rather than try to talk to her now. He was bound to see her later anyways.

"So Pheebs, how was it visiting your old street friends last night?" he asked, starting up a conversation.

"Oh it was great! We went to this new soup kitchen where they have all this fruit outside for you to just take!"

Ross took a moment to think about the description of this place and raised an eyebrow. "Umm Pheebs, did this place have all the lights closed on the inside and large signs outside with prices?"

"Yes!" she answered excitedly. "How did you know that? Have you been there too?"

"Pheebs that's the new grocery store that opened last week. I think you robbed them last night."

"No.., I'm pretty sure it was a soup kitchen," she answered in her Phoebe-like manner. Ross shook his head and looked at Joey who simply shrugged.

All of a sudden the doors to the coffee house chimed open and the three turned their heads to see Rachel walk in.

"Hey, I found Rachel," Joey pointed out and Ross, who was now a little relieved, smiled. But that smile soon disappeared when he noticed someone else follow her in.

"Hey guys, I want you to meet someone," Rachel greeted, smiling from ear-to-ear. "This is Jacob."

" _Hello_ Jacob," Phoebe purred and Ross' mouth dropped open.

He couldn't believe she actually brought a guy with her. And Jacob was no slouch either. He was tall and had a pretty large frame, and with his wavy brown hair and green eyes, he was definitely Rachel's type.

"Is there a bathroom around here?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah, it's just over there," Rachel pointed him to the bathrooms and he thanked her with a smile. She watched him go before taking a seat on the couch, feeling Ross' eyes staring at her but choosing to ignore them.

"Wow Rach, _Rawrr_ ," Phoebe commented.

"I know right. We bumped into each other at the magazine shop just down the street and with some flirting here and there, he asked me out. He's taking me to dinner later tonight," she said proudly, noticing Ross' eyes widen in the corner of her eye.

"Good for you Rach. You haven't gone out in a while," Joey said and she smiled, but mostly because of Ross' reaction than the actual compliment.

Meanwhile Ross' brain was having trouble processing all of this. _What the hell is happening?_ He thought to himself as all he could do was stare at the woman he had been sleeping with for the past month and was now all of a sudden going out on a date. Was this because of him cancelling on her last night, because this sure as hell was not how she should be getting him back?

Opposite to him, Rachel just couldn't stop smiling. Ross had an absolutely devastated look on his face and all she could think about was how she had that look last night. Revenge sure tasted great.

A moment later Jacob returned from the washroom and gently placed his hands on her shoulders, making Ross flinch.

"You ready to go?" he asked her.

She smiled. "For sure. I'll see you guys later."

"Have fun," Phoebe said with a wink as she got up to leave with her date.

Ross just watched her walk to the doors with the same shocked expression on his face. Suddenly she stopped right at the doorway, turning around and finally making eye-contact with him. She gave him a dirty look, almost to mock him, before turning around and leaving.

His facial expression changed again as his brows furrowed and he grit his teeth. He didn't know what she was trying to prove here but he sure got the message. She crossed a line by going on a date just to get him back, and she knew it too. But he sure wasn't just going to stand around and be mocked like that.

Two could play at that game.

…

Sunday rolled around and Joey, Phoebe, and Rachel were watching some TV at Joey and Rachel's apartment. Normally they'd be over at Monica and Chandler's but since they were coming back tomorrow and they knew they probably wouldn't end up cleaning afterwards, they decided it would be better to just hang out across the hall.

"You guys want that slice?" Joey asked, motioning to the last slice of pizza they had ordered.

"All yours Joe," Rachel answered and he happily grabbed it, taking a large bite.

All of a sudden the front door opened and laughter was heard entering the apartment. The three of them turned and found Ross laughing along with some blonde woman. Rachel's eyes immediately widened while Joey dropped his pizza and his mouth hung open, mesmerised by the beauty of the woman under Ross' arm.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Meghan," Ross announced and the woman waved shyly. "Meghan, this is Phoebe and over there is Joey. Oh, and that's Rachel."

"Hi there! You're a pretty one aren't you?" Phoebe greeted from the counter.

Meghan laughed softly and blushed. "I guess so. I love your bracelets."

Phoebe smiled. "Thank you!"

Joey came stumbling over and stopped right in front of them, looking Ross' date up and down. " _How you doing?_ " he asked to which Phoebe hit him on the head with a magazine.

Rachel remained seated in her chair, unable to move as she was frozen in shock. She could not believe Ross had brought his date up to her apartment. _Was this the same woman he had dinner with on their anniversary?_ She wondered. She could feel her blood boiling underneath her skin.

"So Meghan, where do you work?" Phoebe asked.

"Actually I work in fashion."

"Hey, Rachel works in fashion too!" Phoebe exclaimed, turning the attention to Rachel.

"No way! Where do you work?" Meghan asked her.

"Um, Ralph Lauren, as a merchandise manager," she answered timidly.

"That's pretty cool. I'm a manager for Louis Vuitton here in New York."

"Wow, that's great! Good for you!" Rachel replied with a fake enthusiasm. She noticed Ross looking at her with a smirk and she sneered back.

"Alright, well we better go if we want to catch our dinner reservation and that movie," Ross said, seeing the time on his watch.

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot," Meghan laughed. "It was nice meeting you all."

"You too," Phoebe smiled.

"Yeah, and you can come by anytime," Joey said, earning another hit on the head with the magazine.

Ross and Meghan laughed. "Bye guys," he waved as they left, closing the door behind them.

"I really liked her," Phoebe said when they left.

"Me too. She was hot," Joey added, quickly flinching as if Phoebe was going to hit him again.

"She was ok I guess," Rachel mumbled, "but she didn't have to parade her job title around like that. Like, we all have jobs too you know?"

Phoebe and Joey shared a confused look. "Um, yeah sure, whatever you say Rach."

Rachel just crossed her arms, turning her attention back to the television screen even though her mind was elsewhere. _Stupid Ross and his stupid date_ , she thought to herself. She knew her mood would be soured for the rest of the night.

…

And so, the dating war began with both Ross and Rachel using every opportunity to try and show off their dates in front of each other. Tensions between the two were as high as ever but Phoebe and Joey didn't notice, as they were usually preoccupied with Jacob or Meghan respectively.

Monica and Chandler would also return from their trip Monday and be surprised to find both Ross and Rachel 'seriously involved', as they would say, in their relationships.

"Look at what I started," Chandler had joked, however as time went on, he began to regret taking credit for their relationships.

Jealousy was nothing new when it came to Ross and Rachel. Whether it be Rachel jealous of Ross' date, or Ross jealous of Rachel's, the friends have seen it for the worst part of 5 years so to see them feuding with each other was nothing special. Even if this time the jealousy was far more extreme they still simply shrugged it off, which made them all the more oblivious to what was really happening.

It was a Friday evening, marking a week since the dating war began. The friends, with the exception of Ross and the addition of Jacob, are sitting around in Central Perk talking. Joey and Phoebe are sitting on the couch, along with Jacob and Rachel, who was perched on his lap, while Chandler and Monica sat near the small table.

"So Jacob, what's it like being a doctor?" Monica asked, trying to get to know him a bit better, as was everyone else. Though it's been a week, Jacob didn't exactly fit in with the group. His addition was more forced than natural so there was still a bit of awkwardness between him and the rest of the group. The same could also be said for Meghan as she was still more on the shy side.

Jacob simply shrugged. "It's alright. A little stressful at times but you live with it."

"Have you ever had to slice someone open before?" Joey asked.

"You mean surgery? Yeah, maybe once or twice but only for minor injuries. Normally that's left for the surgeons and other specialists."

"Oh, ok," Joey said, trailing off as an awkward silence passed through the group.

"Hey!" Phoebe perked, slightly startling everyone. "You know who else is a doctor?"

"Please don't say Dr. Who. Please don't say Dr. Who," Chandler silently started to pray, earning a slap by Monica.

"Who is Pheebs?" Rachel asked.

"Ross!" Phoebe exclaimed and Rachel frowned.

"Ross is a doctor?" Jacob questioned.

Chandler rolled his eyes. "Only technically."

"Yeah, well how come he has a PhD?" Phoebe countered.

"Hold on, I thought Ross was a paleontologist," Jacob said.

"He is, but he also has a PhD."

"They give those out to paleontologists?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Chandler laughed. "That's what we've been trying to figure out for the past ten years."

As if on cue, the front door open and Ross walked in, with Meghan right behind him. She whispered something in his ear and they laughed before walking over to join the others. A chorus of "hey Ross" and "hey Meghan" went by as everyone greeted them.

"Hello Dr. Geller," Jacob said.

Ross, caught off guard a little, looked at him strangely. "Um, hey… uh, Doctor," he said, not knowing Jacob's last name and not really caring either.

"Hi guys," Meghan waved and was soon dragged down onto Ross' lap as he took a seat on the vacant chair. The two of them laughed while Rachel felt like puking.

A moment later everyone was settled in again but Ross noticed Phoebe staring at them with a small grin on her face.

He raised an eyebrow. "What's up Pheebs?"

"Hey you two," she answered in an almost sultry voice. Ross and Meghan shared a look.

"Um, hi Pheebs," Ross answered in a confused tone, almost like a question.

"You guys have fun last night?" she asked with a weird smile.

"What?"

"You know…" she started raising her eyebrows as she pointed at the two of them. "I saw you last night."

"You saw us?"

Phoebe nodded her head. "I came by to move some more of my stuff and saw you two going at it on the couch. You guys were so into it you didn't even notice me so I left."

"Oh… that…" Ross and Meghan both blushed deep shades of red while everyone now looked at them with small smiles. Everyone but Rachel, who found herself clenching her hand into a tight ball.

"Hey baby," Rachel said taping Jacob's arm, happy to turn everyone's attention away from Ross and Meghan. "Why don't you tell everyone about the time you saved that guy's life?"

"Um, ok," Jacob answered, scratching his head. "Well we had this patient come in and during the checkup he just started to hold his neck like he couldn't breathe. We didn't really know what was happening but we didn't have an inhaler mask in the room at the time so I had to rush out and find one. Luckily there was one in the next room and we were able to get it on him right before he fell unconscious."

"Wow, that's amazing Jacob," Monica commented.

"I know right, because that's what _real_ doctors do; they save lives," Rachel said, mostly directing it towards Ross who now sat with a slight frown. They made quick eye-contact in which she mocked him a little and his brows furrowed.

"Hey Pheebs," Ross said suddenly, getting everyone's attention again. "When you saw us kissing, was it more like this…" he gently leaned over and kissed Meghan on the lips, "… or was it more like this…?" He kissed her again, but this time deeper and longer.

"I think the second one," Phoebe responded. Ross smirked and shot Rachel a glance.

Not willing to lose this battle, she responded to that by gently snuggling into Jacob's chest and wrapping her arms around his torso. She leaned up and gave him a deep kiss on the lips, then turned back and shot Ross the same look he just gave her.

He frowned again but this time, he quickly turned to Meghan and began kissing her passionately. To everyone's surprise, they began making out right in front of them. A moment later Ross opened an eye just wide enough to see Rachel's completely astonished expression and he knew he won.

"Urgh!" Rachel exclaimed in an exasperated voice. She sprang to her feet and shot Ross and angry look. "You know what? Jacob, let's go have sex!"

She aggressively grabbed his hand and pulled him up, angrily stomping out of the coffee house with Jacob dragged right behind her, leaving everyone else sitting with both shocked and utterly confused expressions.

…

Later that night, Ross was cleaning up a few things in his living room. With Phoebe moving back to her old house and a few of her boxes still lying around, his place had looked quiet messy for the past few days.

Ross was picking up a few boxes when all of a sudden his front door burst in and Rachel stormed in angrily. He looked up and his expression immediately hardened as he put the boxes down.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Rachel yelled.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me! What's your problem?!"

Ross felt his blood boil. "What's my problem?! What's your problem?! You're the one who started all of this!"

"Me?! ME?! You think I'm the one who started this?! You were the one who started dating first!" she shouted.

"What the hell are you talking about?! I only starting dating Meghan because you started dating Jacob!" he yelled back, except his answer only seemed to make her angrier.

"Are you kidding me?! Are you so naïve that you still won't admit it?!"

"Admit what?"

"THAT YOU STARTED DATING FIRST!" Rachel practically screamed and only then did he realise how angry she really was. He had only ever been yelled at like that once, and that had been when they had broken up all those years ago.

Ross took a deep breath, knowing that if they got into a yelling match things would not end well. "Alright, well because I have absolutely no idea what the hell you're talking about, why don't you tell me _when_ I started dating first."

"Our anniversary!"

He paused for a moment. "Our anniversary? Which one?"

"Gee, the one we had 5 years ago," she answered sarcastically. "Our one month you idiot! You don't think I know?! You don't think I know about you cancelling on our anniversary just so you could go on some fancy date?!"

All of a sudden everything became clear to him. Immediately he felt all his anger leave his body as he started rubbed his temple. "Is this how all this started?" he asked in half disbelief.

"What do you think?!"

Ross let out a soft chuckle and sat down on the couch. Rachel just watched him as she couldn't believe he was actually laughing at the situation. "Rachel, I didn't cancel on you to go on a date."

"You still won't admit it?!" she asked angrily.

"No, I won't admit it because there's nothing to admit. Look, right before our anniversary Chandler asked me for an urgent favour. He said that his boss had asked him to meet with an investor for his company, but because he and Monica were planning on going to Vermont for the weekend he asked me to take it for him instead. I didn't want to accept but he begged me so I eventually said 'yes'."

Rachel's expression softened. "What? So you didn't actually go on a date?" Ross nodded. "So why did you lie to me?"

" _This_ ," he said, gesturing around him. " _This_ is exactly why I didn't tell you. I knew you would take it out of context and think I was going on a date or something, which is why I tried to hide it with a work meeting." Ross shook his head and let out another soft laugh. "Looks like it ended up turning into a huge thing anyways."

Silence followed as both of them realised just how stupid they had been for the past week. Rachel slowly took a seat on the couch with a look of disbelief on her face.

"I can't believe it. You didn't go on a date," she whispered to herself as if to confirm it for herself.

Ross managed a small smile and grabbed her hand. "Of course not. Why would I want to date when I have you?" Rachel smiled and looked at him, giving his hand a squeeze. "So… are we good?"

"Yes… we're good," she answered with a small smile. "I guess we also agree that we don't want the other to date someone else."

"I guess so," he shrugged and they shared another smile. Slowly she began leaning in and so did he, and a moment later their lips met in a soft kiss.

"God, I missed this," she whispered against his lips.

"Me too," he said, making her smile. He leaned in for another kiss when all of a sudden she pulled back.

"Wait, what are we going to do about Jacob and Meghan?" Rachel asked in a worried tone.

Ross simply smiled. "I wouldn't worry too much about that. I'm sure we can set those two up. Meghan told me she liked Jacob."

"Yeah? That's funny because Jacob told me the same thing."

"Well then, I guess things will work out then." They looked at each other and smiled as another silence passed by. Ross suddenly thought of something and looked away, seeming to stare at the ground.

"What?" she asked, noticing his sudden reaction.

"Nothing I was just wondering…" he trailed off. "Did you actually sleep with Jacob?"

"No," she answered quickly but truthfully. "I, uh… I couldn't. Did you, uh, sleep with Meghan?"

"No. I also couldn't." She smiled which made him smile as well. Their lips met once again in another kiss, this time deepening it with their tongues, almost like an attempt to make up for lost time.

"So," Ross said, breaking their kiss. "Since neither of us have had sex for a week, what do you say we break that streak?"

Rachel smiled. "I like that idea, but not tonight."

"Why not tonight?"

"Because I still have the stuff from our one month anniversary and it seems like a waste if we don't use it."

"Hmm, I hate waste," he hummed and she laughed, gently kissing him again before getting up off the couch.

"Come by my place tomorrow at 8?"

"8 it is, and I promise not to cancel this time."

"You better not," she warned but then gave him one last smile before walking out the door.

As soon as she left, Ross collapsed on his couch, sighing a deep sigh of relief. Thank God that was over. He had no idea they could turn such a small thing into such a huge deal. They were almost as bad as they were when they had dated.

Almost.

…

 **Author's Note: Threw in a little drama to satisfy myself. Hope you guys don't mind.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Days went by, weeks, then months. As time went on, sneaking around became almost second nature for them. Everyday their relationship seemed to grow, and with the thrill and excitement from keeping it a secret, there didn't seem to be an end in sight.

The sound of high heels tapping the ground echoed through the hallway as the few students lingering in the halls turned their heads towards her. Rachel noticed them and couldn't help but smile at the attention. It was exactly how it had been back when she had been in school and it was nice to see she hadn't lost her touch.

 _I still got it_ , she thought to herself with a smile and flicked her hair.

Rachel turned left at the end of the corridor and continued towards the office of a _very_ special man. She couldn't wait to surprise him just as he did a while ago, and looking over what she was wearing she knew his reaction would be priceless. She felt another few pairs of eyes turn towards her but she didn't really think too much about it as there was really only one person's eyes she wanted to turn and she fastened her pace to get to him quicker.

As she took another left down the large university's hallways she thought back to how this mischievous idea began.

 _[Flashback to a couple nights ago]_

It had been night of exceptionally hot and steamy sex and the two of them were cooling down after their last session. Rachel was lying on her back with Ross hovering above her, playfully kissing and licking her lips. She closed her eyes and smiled, loving the feeling of being dominated over, even if it wasn't anything sexual but just the feeling of being held and protected as his body was like a big blanket that covered her from head to toe.

All of a sudden her eyes had shot open when she felt his tongue roam around her face, licking her cheeks, temple, and forehead as she squirmed underneath.

"Stop that! Ross stop, that tickles!" she giggled.

"I can't help it. You taste good," he responded, licking her eyelids and tip of her nose.

Rachel laughed. "How can I taste good? I'm all sweaty and gross."

"Exactly, that's what makes you taste good."

Rachel smiled and closed her eyes again as she began to like the feeling of being licked, like a mother cat licking its kitten, it was a little endearing. She even let out a little purr to show she was enjoying it, which made him laugh a little. Ross continued to lick her all over, covering every inch of her face and even a bit of her neck before returning back to her lips, to which she gladly accepted back.

After a few moments of their tongues dancing in each other's mouths, Ross' arms eventually tired out and he rolled them over, gently pulling her over his chest. Rachel laughed softly then sighed, propping an elbow up so she could look at him while her other hand drew small circles over his chest.

"Ok, now it's your turn."

"My turn?" he asked with a soft chuckle.

"Yeah, it's your turn to tell me one of your fantasies. After all, it's only fair…" She gestured to the pieces of a pilot uniform scattered across the ground. She wouldn't be surprised if there were tears in the fabric from her clawing. She had practically pounced on him when he entered the bedroom wearing the uniform she thought she'd only see in her dreams.

"Oh that?" Ross said in an amused tone, propping his hands behind his head. "Well honestly I don't really have any."

"Liar!" Rachel smiled, shaking his arms.

"I'm serious! I really don't have any."

"You're telling me you guys read so many Playboys and watch so much porn, yet you don't have any sexual fantasies?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Ross just shrugged. "Well I can't speak for _all_ guys but at least for me personally, I just don't have any." He smiled at her. "Besides, I've had something else to preoccupy myself that's way better than porn."

She blushed slightly but gave him a sly look. "Come on, you have to have some kind of fantasy. I really want to do something for you. After all, you're not the only one who benefits from it."

"Ok, ok, let me think about it."

A few seconds went by in complete silence.

"Well?" she asked with an expecting look.

"Alright… there might be one…"

Her eyes lit up as she waited for him to continue. "And…?"

"Well, when I was young… I had these…" Suddenly he stopped and shook his head. "No never mind, I got nothing."

"Yes you do! Tell me!"

"No I can't. It's a little, uh, embarrassing…"

"Come on, I won't judge! Promise!"

"Still no."

"Please?" she asked with a pout, changing her tactics. Ross bit his bottom lip and she knew she got him. "Maybe this will coax it out of you…" She gently leaned down and kissed him passionately on the lips. At the same time, she lowered herself a little bit and teased his sensitive part with her body, catching him by surprise as he seemed to forget they were still naked.

Quickly his hands grabbed onto her waist not letting her move. "Ok, ok, I'll tell you."

"Yes!" she exclaimed triumphantly. "Now spill!"

"Alright, well truthfully the only fantasies I can remember are the ones from when I was young and they were… well they were about you."

"About me?" Rachel asked, a little taken back a little.

Ross scratched his head. "Yeah, I mean you know how crazy I was about you back then. I, uh, thought about you a lot… probably more than I'll admit…"She blushed, this time a lot more noticeable.

"Um… so what did you fantasize about?"

Ross looked away, clearly embarrassed. " _Us_ mostly… you know, being together. I had a lot of dreams where it would just be me and you at school or something, and one thing would lead to another and we'd just, uh… start doing it. You'd be wearing some school girl outfit and uh… well yeah, that's all I can really remember."

"Wow, um, I didn't know you used to think of me like that."

"Yeah well… I was young and you know what goes through a teenaged boy's mind. I was still new to the whole sex thing and you… you were _Rachel_ _Green_ , the dream girl I had a crush on since grade school. Can't blame my younger self for wanting you so much."

A small smile appeared on her face after his last sentence. She leaned down and blew into his ear. "Well does your older self still want _Rachel Green_ that much?"

Ross smiled and in one swift move he flipped them back over with him prowling above her. "Oh, my older self wants you far more than my younger self ever did."

With that, their lips connected once again as they went on to enjoy the night together.

 _[End of Flashback]_

Rachel smiled at the recent memory. She hadn't had sex like that in a long time. In fact, the last time had probably been when Ross had dressed up as that sailor and surprised her at the coffee house all those years ago. She was sure that this would get the same outcome as before, if not more.

Spotting Ross' office a few doors down, Rachel's smile grew. _Time to make someone's day_ , she thought. She quietly approached the door, clearing her throat and flattening out her outfit before knocking softly.

"Come in!"

"Hey professor, I've just got this thing I wanted to talk to you about…" she started in a sultry voice, pushing the door open just enough for her to slip in.

"Well of course, what is it that you wanted to talk abooouuu…" As soon as Ross' eyes moved from the computer screen to his visitor, his jaw dropped. His eyes instinctively began running up her body, tracing every curve of her school girl outfit. Her white leggings immediately showed off her legs while her short, plaid skirt toyed with the idea of what was underneath. Topped with a revealing white button down blouse and a messy red tie, Ross had to blink a couple times to make sure if what he was seeing was real. "R-Rachel?"

Rachel simply smirked. She could literally feel his eyes on her body, sending shivers down her spine but she loved it. "Well you see professor, my grades haven't been doing too well and I was just wondering if there was _anything_ I could do for some extra-credit."

Ross tried to speak but nothing came out. Seeing his frozen state, Rachel began sauntering over towards him, crossing her legs with every step as she slowly closed the distance between them.

"Rach... you… I…" he finally managed to stammer but didn't make anything close to a sentence. She circled around his desk and plopped herself into an incredibly sexy position on top of his desk, gently tracing his jaw-line with her finger.

"You like?"

He finally seemed to snap out of his trance but he couldn't stop staring at her. "Rachel what are you doing here?"

"What does it look like?" She tilted his chin up and leaned forward to gently bite at his earlobe. "You told me you fantasized about me wearing a school girl outfit and us doing it in school. Well now you have me in the outfit, what are you going to do now?"

"I… I… you…" Rachel rolled her eyes and instead locked lips with him to shut him up. For a moment it seemed to work as they both sank deep into the kiss, his hands running up and down her thigh and waist, but suddenly his eyes shot open. "Oh my god! Rachel you can't be here right now!"

"Shh, don't worry, it's just you and me," she replied, leaning in for another deep kiss.

"No Rach, you don't understand! You _really_ can't be here! God knows how much I want you right now, seriously I'm going crazy on the inside," she smiled, "but Chandler and Joey are supposed to meet me here for a game we're going to and they should be here any moment!"

Rachel froze. "What?"

"I know! Plus I have a student who's supposed to come and p-"

Before he could finish a knock sounded at the door and a moment later a student wearing football equipment walked in.

"Hey Professor Geller, I'm here to pick up that assignment…. Woah!"

Both Ross and Rachel blushed a deep shade of red. Rachel quietly took a seat in the chair, avoiding the student's gaze, while Ross frantically flipped through the papers on his desk.

"Yes, uh… um… here they are!" He quickly handed the papers to the student but it seemed like all his focus was on the incredibly attractive woman sitting in Ross' chair. "Troy!"

"Oh right, Sorry!" Troy quickly took the papers from Ross' hand while his eyes continued to dart towards Rachel. "Who's she?"

Ross looked towards her then looked back at his student. "Troy this is Rachel, my… uh… girlfriend. Rachel, this is Troy who was about to leave." Rachel managed a ginger wave.

"Wow professor, I didn't think you had it in you." Ross gave him a glare. "And I was just about to leave! Nice to meet you Rachel and, uh, I'll have this done by the end of the week."

Troy quickly hurried out of his office. "Good luck at your game!" Ross yelled, flinching when the door shut behind his student. He groaned and rubbed his eyes, turning to Rachel who was now giving him a strange look.

"What?"

"Girlfriend?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What else was I supposed to say? _This is Rachel, a friend of mine who I've been sleeping with but strictly in a platonic relationship_ ," he replied sarcastically.

"Ok, fair enough."

"Anyways, quick put this on before we have anymore surprise visitors." Ross grabbed his jacket and tossed it to her. It was long enough to go down to the bottom of her skirt and she quickly began slipping on the sleeves. "Wait."

"What?" she asked, looking up to find his eyes still lingering on her body. She smirked, understanding why he wanted to wait. "You can't resist me in this outfit, can you?"

"Let's just say I expect you to be wearing that when you come over tonight."

"Oh? And what if I said I have plans for tonight?" she teased.

"Well if that were the case then I would cancel on Chandler and Joey and take you right now, right here, because honestly seeing you in that outfit makes me regret wanting to go to that game."

"I'll have it on for tonight." Rachel smiled, zipping up the jacket. "But you know, that just means I'll be having a lot higher expectations."

Ross smiled and placed his hands on her waist, moving closer so his mouth was inches away from hers. "Oh, I assure you _all_ of your expectations are going to be met, plus _much, much more_."

"I can't wait," she hummed back before their lips met in another kiss, just a preview for tonight.

They broke just in time as the door swung open and Chandler and Joey strolled in.

"Yo Ross-o! Let's go!" Chandler announced.

"Yeah, we're gonna grab dinner 'cuz I'm starved and.. oh hey Rach, what are you doing here?" Both Chandler and Joey raised an eyebrow, confused as to why she would be in Ross' office.

"Oh, hey guys. I just stopped because… uh, because of…"

"-a bet!" Ross finished. "Yeah, uh, Rach and I had a bet and I lost so she's here to collect her winnings."

"Right! That's exactly why I'm here!" she exclaimed, going along with it. "Ross, do you have that thing that I won?"

"Um, yeah! Here!" Ross quickly grabbed his wallet and pulled out two hundred dollar bills, handing it to her.

"Wow Ross, what did you bet on that made you give up two hundreds?" Candler questioned.

"Oh, you know… just a bet… about school…"

"School? What kind of bet could you make about school?" Joey asked.

"Let's just say there are some thing you never thought you'd see but end up seeing anyways." Rachel looked away to hide a blush.

Chandler and Joey just looked at each other, not understanding the reference but shrugging it off. "Um, ok… You ready to go?"

"Yeah, you guys go ahead. I'm right behind you."

Chandler and Joey walked out and Ross quickly turned to Rachel.

"I expect that back later," he said, noticing she had put away her 'prize money'.

"Aww, and here I thought I could go do a little shopping," she pouted.

"Alright then, I tell you what. How about you make me _find_ it _on_ you later tonight?"

Rachel's eyes widened but a small smile crept onto her face. "Oh professor, I didn't know you could be so dirty-minded."

Ross laughed and gave her a quick kiss. "I'll see you tonight."

"Have fun!" she cooed and he laughed again before walking out the door, leaving Rachel smiling to herself in his office.

 _Success_ , she thought to herself with a smile and walked out, closing the door behind her.

…

 **Author's Note: Just a small, simple chapter. You'll be seeing quite a few of these for the next few chapters before the dramatic stuff begins.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

It was a normal afternoon. Ross had just gotten off work and after dropping his stuff off at his place, he decided to swing by Monica and Chandler's to see what they were up to. After scaling the building stairs he approached the door and found it unlocked, not that that was out of the ordinary. It was the one thing he never quite understood about his sister. With all her little obsessions and habits, he found it strange that locking the door wasn't one of them.

"Chandler? Monica?" Ross yelled out, entering the apartment.

"In the bathroom!" replied a muffled voice he couldn't quite make out.

He made his way over to the bathroom and knocked on the door. "Is it alright if I come in?"

"Who is it?"

"It's Ross."

"Oh, yeah sure!"

Ross turned the knob and walked in, surprised to find Rachel sitting in the bath filled with bubbles. Lightly scented candles were lit around the bath, setting a calm and peaceful atmosphere. His eyes landed on Rachel who smiled when she saw him.

"Hi," she greeted cheerfully.

"Um, hi," he replied, also with a smile. "Why are you taking a bath here? You know you live a few steps away from here, right?"

"I know that silly. It's a lot more relaxing here and Mon lent me her scented candles. Plus, the bath over at my place is covered in food stains."

Ross raised an eyebrow. "Food stains?"

She sighed and shook her head. "Don't ask."

He chuckled. "Do you know where Monica and Chandler are? I thought they'd be around."

"They went out to get supplies. We're supposed to start planning their wedding later tonight so Mon wanted to buy some binders and folders."

"That's Mon," Ross laughed. A calm moment of silence went by and the two of them looked at each other with soft smiles. He noticed her lifting her chin towards him a little bit and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You haven't kissed me yet."

"I didn't know that that was something I'm supposed to do," he joked.

"Well now it is," she replied with a smile. "Besides, every time you've seen me naked you've kissed me. Can't ruin that streak right?"

"Aha, well that's where you're wrong. I haven't seen you naked yet," he pointed out.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Just kiss me."

"Ok," he said, finally giving in and planting a soft, lingering kiss on her lips. "Happy?"

"Very," she hummed.

Ross shook his head and chuckled. "Alright, well I'll let you go back to relaxing," he said, standing back up.

"Wait, where are you going?" she asked.

"To the fridge? I'm going to grab a quick snack," he replied, a little confused.

"Then where?"

"Well I was going to watch some TV, why?"

"Well, why don't you come back here?" Rachel asked coyly.

"And watch you bathe?"

She laughed and rolled her eyes. "No silly, so you can come join me."

"In the bath?" Ross asked, almost out of disbelief.

"Where else?"

"I don't know Rach, it's kind of risky," he said, scratching the back of his head.

"Please? It'll help me relax a lot and it can help you relax too."

"Rach…"

"Please?" She pouted and gave him her best puppy dog look, knowing its power over him.

"Urgh, you know I can't resist that look of yours." He sighed, and then smiled. "Alright, let me just grab some food."

"Hurry back!" he yelled after him.

A moment later Ross returned with a bowl of strawberries, placing them on the tub's edge while munching on one of his own. Rachel eyed the fruit and raised an eyebrow.

"Strawberries? Really?"

"What's wrong with strawberries?" he asked.

"Don't you think they're a little too… romantic?" she questioned, giving him a look.

Ross was taken aback. "Um… I… they were the only thing in the fridge… I…" he stammered.

At that moment her serious look turned into a smile and she giggled at his reaction. "I'm just kidding. Strawberries are perfect." She reached over and grabbed one, taking a bite of the sweet fruit.

Ross looked at her with a look of disbelief. "You can be a real devil sometimes, you know that?"

"I know," she replied proudly. "Now hurry up and get in."

He laughed and began taking off his clothes, stripping down to nothing but his boxers while Rachel looked on, a slight blush on her face. Ross saw her staring and smirked, teasingly removing his boxers slowly as her eyes widened slightly.

"Enjoy the show?" he joked, grabbing his clothes off the ground.

"Very much, now I really want you to get in the tub," she replied. Ross rolled his eyes and she watched as he turned around to hang his clothes on the hooks behind the door, but when he turned around something caught her eye that made her gasp. "Oh my God!"

"What?" Ross spun around and saw her panicked look.

"Ross, what happened to your back?" Rachel asked in a worried tone.

"What? What's wrong with my back?" he questioned, reaching his hand over his shoulder to see what she was talking about.

"You have these red scratch marks all over your back."

"Scratch marks?" Ross stopped and lowered his hand, laughing a little. "Rachel those scratch marks are from you!"

"Me?" she asked in disbelief. "I did that to you?"

"You don't know? When we have sex you love to dig your fingernails into my back, especially when we really go at it. I'm surprised there aren't any bite marks either."

He may seem amused but she certainly wasn't. Worry was plastered all over her face as she felt incredibly guilty for doing that to him. "Oh my god, Ross I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

"Rach it's alright, really," he said, seeing her worried expression. "It's kind of endearing really. Like when I tug your hair, it eggs me on."

"If you say so…" Rachel said softly, her worried look not quite going away.

Ross slowly stepped into the tub opposite to her and lay down. "Wow, you were right. This feels great."

Instead of answering Rachel gently swam over to him, sitting in his lap while her fingers traced the small red gashes on his back. "Does it hurt?"

"Not really. Maybe at first but I'm a little preoccupied with something else to really feel anything," he joked lightly, but she didn't laugh.

"Ross I… I feel awful. Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?"

He shrugged. "I didn't think it was that big of a deal. You get used to it after a few years."

"A few years?" she asked in disbelief. "You mean I've done this before? Even back when we were dating?"

"Rachel, calm down. It's nothing, really." Ross gently tilted her chin towards him and looked her in the eyes. "Stop worrying, ok? I'm fine, honest. If anything, the scratching thing is one of the things I love about you."

"Really?" she asked, looking into his eyes.

"Really. It's kind of cute actually. Shows that you can lose control sometimes and rely on me, or I guess in this case, my back." She finally managed to crack a small smile and he returned it. He leaned forward and kissed her softly to assure her he was fine before gently turning her around so she could lie on his chest. "Relaxing, remember?"

Rachel laughed softly. "Right, how could I forget?" She grabbed one of his arms and wrapped it around her stomach, interlocking her hand with his.

Ross smiled and reached for the bowl of strawberries, plucking one from the top and holding it in front of her mouth. She smiled and leaned forward, taking a bite out of the strawberry and swallowing it a moment later.

"Now _that_ was cheesy," she remarked after.

"Alright, well if you didn't like it…"

"No, no! I liked it!" she chirped and he laughed.

"That's what I thought," he said, feeding her another strawberry.

Time went by and the two simply relaxed with each other. Once in a while Ross would feed her a strawberry and she would stroke his arm to show her gratitude, but aside from that they would lie back and close their eyes to simply enjoy this moment together. They were just two friends who love being around each other and have grown to share a a strong bond together. There was nothing wrong with that… right?

All of a sudden both their eyes shot open when they heard the front door open. Their facial expressions turned to panic as they heard footsteps walk into the apartment.

"Rachel? You here?" they heard Monica yell out.

"Shit! Mon's back! They can't see you here!" she panicked, her eyes darting around the bathroom for anywhere Ross can hide. "Um… I'm just in the bathroom Mon!"

"Why would you tell her where we are?" Ross questioned.

"Because it would be suspicious if I didn't respond," she said, hearing footsteps nearing the bathroom door. "Quick! Get down!"

"What? Wh-" But before he could say anything else Rachel dunked him in the water, quickly adjusting herself over-top of him just as the door swung open and Monica and Chandler came in.

"Oh hey Rach, you're still in the bath?" Monica asked.

"Yup, it's just so relaxing that I didn't want to get out," she answered, piling some bubbles around her and praying that Ross could hold his breath.

"Wow, that looks real relaxing Rach. Maybe I can take a bubble

bath later," Chandler commented, but realised what he said after seeing the strange look Rachel was giving him. "Hehe, did I say me? I meant I can make a bubble bath for _Mon_ later."

Monica rolled her eyes. "Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that we got all the supplies and stuff so we can start planning the wedding once you're done. Joey and Phoebe should be here soon too."

"Great! I'll be out in a few minutes." Just as Monica and Chandler turned around to leave, Rachel began to feel Ross squirming underneath her, clearly struggling to stay submerged. One of his hands flailed around in the water beside her and grabbed her breast by accident. She gasped from the unexpected feeling which made Monica and Chandler turn back around.

"What? Why'd you gasp?"

"Um, the water… got really cold somehow," she lied, grabbing Ross' hand underwater while letting out another gasp to sell her act. "Brrr! It's cold! Can you guys leave so I can get changed?"

"Of course, we don't want you to catch a cold." With that, the two of them left the bathroom, closing the door behind them.

As soon as the door shut, Ross burst up from beneath the water, coughing and gasping for air. Rachel immediately turned around and tried to help him as best she could.

"Ross, are you ok?" she asked softly, stroking his cheek.

"A little warning next time would be great," he huffed, taking a few more breaths and leaning back against the tub to rest. "That was too close."

Rachel nodded in agreement. "Hey, you think Monica and Chandler ever did something like this?" she asked, remembering that they also snuck around before.

Ross made a disgusted face. "Gross Rach, I don't want to think about my sister naked."

She laughed, standing up and pulling him up with her. "Come on, we need to get dressed. Monica's waiting and we need to figure out how to sneak you out."

The next few moments were spent with them making out while drying each other off. Since there was only one towel they were forced to share, not that it was a problem or anything. Minutes later they were almost dressed with Ross pulling up his belt while Rachel dried her hair.

"Ok, so I'll distract the guys in the kitchen while you sneak out the window and climb down the fire escape," she said, going over their plan.

"You sure you don't want to come over?" he asked, placing his hands on her hips. "I'm sure we can do something far more enjoyable than wedding planning."

"Oh, so now you want to have sex?" she joked. "Baby I'd love to but you know I can't."

After drying her hair she tossed the towel in the hamper and got on her toes to steal one last kiss from her lover.

"See you in a few minutes?"

"Of course," he replied.

She gave him a small smile before turning the handle and walking out of the bathroom. She saw the guys in the kitchen, including Joey and Phoebe, and went over to distract them.

"Hey guys!" she greeted, walking to the counter and bringing their eyes with her. She spotted Ross already out on the balcony who turned and blew her a kiss before disappearing down the fire escape.

"Hey Rach, have a nice bath?" Phoebe greeted.

"More than you'll ever know," she replied with a smile. "What are you guys planning right now?"

"We're just going over the finances," Chandler explained, frowning at all the documents in his hand. "It would be a lot easier and cheaper if we cut a lot of the… luxuries…"

Monica looked over her fiancée's shoulder. "What? The center piece is a necessity! It goes with the colour of the flowers!"

"Alright, alright, we'll have the center piece," Chandler conceded.

"Young grasshopper, you have a lot to learn about what a necessity is and what's not," Phoebe said and Rachel nodded in agreement.

"Do you have any comments?" Chandler asked, turning to Joey.

"Dude it's your wedding. As long as you have food I'm good."

Everyone rolled their eyes. Rachel took a seat and everyone got to work. They quickly planned out everything from decorations to entertainment, all while Chandler struggled to wrap his mind around the growing cost of this wedding. His hand flew across the calculator while beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. Joey simply sat back and watched, munching on a box of cookies.

After going over all the basics they soon found out that they may have overdone it as the total cost even exceeded that of Chandler's savings. They were about to go over a solution to their problem when the front door opened and Ross walked in.

"Hey guys," he greeted and everyone greeted him back. Rachel secretly gave him a smile and he smiled back, sending her a little wink as well. "So, I hear we're doing some wedding planning?"

"Well we were until we found out we might have a little financial issue," Chandler said. "Mon, are you sure we need this ice sculpture? Wouldn't it just end up melting?"

"Yeah but without the ice sculpture we lose the most elegant decoration we have! We won't have that balance between flaunting and graceful!" Monica explained sadly. "I just want this wedding to be perfect, you know?"

"Honey, I do too but we just don't have the money for all of this," Chandler said, putting an arm around her shoulders to comfort her.

"Well maybe I can help with that," Ross jumped in, getting their attention.

"What? No Ross, I can't ask you for money," Chandler refused.

"Just let me see the finances." Chandler reluctantly handed him a document and he whistled when he saw the total. "Alright, well how much do you have?"

Chandler grabbed a pen and a notepad and was about write out a number when he noticed everyone looking over his shoulder. "What are you guys doing? You've already seen how much I have."

"Yeah but it's nice to see you write out all those zeros," Joey said and Chandler rolled his eyes. He quickly wrote down a number and handed it to Ross.

"Wow Chandler, that's a pretty hefty number," Ross commented, whistling his approval.

"But we still need almost half of that to pay for the whole thing."

"Half of this?" Ross looked at the number and thought for a moment. "Alright, no problem. I got you covered."

Monica perked. "Ross, you can't be serious. I can't ask you for any more money. You've already lent me a lot over the years."

"Nonsense, I'll pay the rest. Anything for my baby sister's first _and last_ wedding." He gave Chandler a glare and he gulped. "Seriously Mon, it's only fair since Mom and Dad spent your wedding fund on that beach house."

Monica burst from her seat and wrapped her brother in a tight hug. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"It's really no problem Mon. You just get plan whatever you need to make your wedding great and I'll pay for whatever is left." Ross gave her a kiss on the forehead and returned the hug. Meanwhile Rachel beamed from her chair, staring at her lover with a newfound respect. Ross had always been incredibly generous and sweet, one of the many things she loved about him.

"You know, speaking of money… Ross, how much do you actually have?" Phoebe asked.

"Actually I'm beginning to wonder that myself," Monica added.

Ross scratched his head. "Um, I believe that's a personal matter."

"Aw, come on man. It's just a number," Joey countered. Ross looked around the room and saw that it seemed like everyone wanted to know how much he had. Even Rachel had a glint of curiosity in her eyes.

Ross scratched his throat. "Uh… I don't know guys…"

"Alright well then at least show me since you saw how much I have," Chandler proposed.

"All right, I'll show Chandler." He took the same note and turned around, quietly writing down a number while everyone strained to look over his shoulder. He folded the paper in two and handed it to Chandler.

"Holy shit!" Chandler exclaimed, literally jumping out of his seat. "What the hell? Did you find a pot of gold or something?"

"Let me see! Let me see!" Before Ross could stop her, Monica snatched the paper out of Chandler's hands. "Oh my god!"

Joey grabbed the paper and he, Phoebe, and Rachel looked at the number. "Whoa!" they exclaimed at once.

"Dude, you're a freaking millionaire!"

"Actually Joey, there needs to be another zero to make it a million…" Ross countered.

"Well this explains how you were able to pay for three weddings _and_ three divorces," Chandler quipped.

"Why are you so cheap when you have _this_ much money?" Monica asked but took it back when she saw Ross' look. "I mean, uh… please still pay for my wedding."

Ross groaned and shook his head. "And this is why I keep this kind of stuff private…"

"Yeah come on guys, stop pressuring him so much," Phoebe said, moving over and grabbing onto his arm. "Hi Ross," she purred and he rolled his eyes.

"Ok but seriously Ross, where did you get all that money?" Joey questioned.

He shrugged. "I got a lot of bonuses from the museums and the university." Everyone continued to look at him in bewilderment and he sighed. "Look, I have money but its all hard-earned savings so I'm not using it often or anything. Can we just move on?"

"Ross is right. We have my wedding to plan!" Monica exclaimed. "Back to work people!"

The group returned back to their seats as Monica began going over the more detailed stuff, however as interesting as planning a wedding was, Rachel just couldn't stop staring at Ross. It was one of those moments where she just felt an uncontrollable attraction towards him that wouldn't fade away easily.

"… Moving on, for the wedding dress I was thinking-"

"Actually Mon, speaking of wedding dresses I saw this beautiful one in a magazine but I think I left it at Ross' place," Rachel quickly cut in, eyeing him across the table.

"Really? That sounds great! Could you go get it?" Monica asked.

"Sure, I'll try to find it," she said, standing up. "Ross?"

Raising an eyebrow Ross stood up as well and the two of them headed for the door. In the hallway, Ross gently shut the door behind him and turned to her with a confused look.

"I don't remember you leaving a magazine at my place."

"I know," she replied with a smile. "I just needed an excuse for us to be alone for a little while."

"Wait, now _you_ want to have sex?" He raised an eyebrow. "Does this have anything to do with you finding out about how much money I have?"

"Maybe a little…" Ross frowned. "But it's not like that! I'm just… incredibly attracted to you right now, especially after you agreed to pay for the rest of Monica's wedding."

"Attracted?"

Rachel played with her hair. "Yeah, I think there's nothing sexier than a man with money who's generous enough to lend his money to his sister. It's really endearing actually."

Ross laughed and shook his head. "Same old Rachel…"

"What?"

"Nothing." He smiled.

She frowned, catching onto his joke. "Haha, very funny. Now do you want to stay here and tell your little jokes or do you want to have sex with me at your apartment?"

"Option two sounds way better than option one."

Rachel smiled. "That's what I thought," she said, grabbing his hand and leading him down the stairwell.

…

 **Author's Note: Kind of a weird spot to end things but I felt it was becoming incredibly similar to a previous chapter so I cut it short. Hope you enjoyed nonetheless.**

 **By the way, wow! Have you guys seen the amount of Ross and Rachel stories coming out recently? When I first started writing there were hardly any R &R stories. My goal was to revive the R&R community and whether I had a hand in it or not, it's great to see some authors, old and new, come and share their stories on our favourite couple. ;) Be sure to go check out those stories and give those writers some support.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Ross stood outside the familiar apartment building, walking back and forth as he waited for the guys to arrive. He impatiently glanced at his watch and tapped his foot on the ground, slowly becoming more irritated by the minute. A slight early spring breeze blew in the air and he zipped up his jacket to keep warm.

"Where are they?" he asked no one in particular, glancing at his watch again.

Suddenly he heard a familiar pair of voices and spun around to see Joey and Chandler slowly making their way towards him. For a second he wondered why they had come from the streets rather than the building but when he saw the large sandwich Joey was eating, he put two and two together.

"Where have you guys been? The game's going to start in less than an hour!" he said, confronting them when they walked over.

"That's exactly what I said but _someone_ wanted to grab a sandwich first," Chandler responded, pointing at Joey accusingly as he took a bite of the greasy mess.

"Ifh youh hah a bihe of thich, youh woudn'ch be talckhinch."

"Joey, do you realise how busy I've been over the past week? I had to cancel a board meeting just so I could clear up my evening for this!"

Joey held up a finger, quickly swallowed his food before talking. "Relax Ross, we'll make it. There's no way we're missing a Rangers-Devils rivalry game at home! Stanley cup champions vs. the home town Rangers! It doesn't get better than that!"

Ross sighed and shared a look with Chandler. "Alright, well then let's go."

"Yeah, Joey you got the tickets?" Chandler asked.

"Of course I have the tickets! They're right here…" He patted the right pocket of his jacket, only to find it empty. "Um… hehe, no they're right here!" He patted his left pocket and found that it was empty as well. Slowly he looked up to meet the angry eyes of Ross and Chandler staring at him. "Uh, yeah… I don't have them…"

"Joey!" they yelled in unison.

"Ok, ok, I forget them but I know exactly where they are. I'll just go up and grab them real quick…" Joey reached for a pocket on his jacket but struggled to open it as his hands were covered in grease.

"How about _I_ go get them," Ross objected, reaching into Joey's pocket and taking the keys. "Ok so where exactly are they?"

"Um… they're in that thing that holds that other thing that I use."

Ross and Chandler stared at him with blank looks. "How about you try again but this time use actual words," Chandler quipped.

"Ok, um…" Joey looked at the ground as he tried to think. "Uh, I don't know. Try looking on all the tables and stuff, and if it's not there look in the drawers."

Ross rubbed his temple. "I thought you knew exactly where they are."

"I do! They're in the apartment!"

Ross and Chandler groaned. "Forget it, I'll just find them myself," Ross said, shaking his head as he walked into the building.

A moment later he reached apartment 19 and unlocked the door, stepping inside. He immediately began pulling open drawers, finding random things from blobs of gum to pairs of Joey's underwear, but no hockey tickets. He was so focused on finding the tickets that he didn't even notice Rachel walk out of her room, combing her hair.

"Oh hey!" she exclaimed cheerfully, surprised to see him in the apartment.

At the sound of her voice Ross' head shot up, also not expecting to see anyone else but smiled when he saw her. "Oh, hi. Sorry, I didn't see you there."

"Yeah, I kind of assumed from your reaction," she giggled. "What are you looking for?"

"Rangers tickets," he answered, pulling open another set of drawers. "Joey said he left them somewhere here but I can't find them."

As Ross continued to scan through the drawers, all of a sudden he jumped back with a yell, kicking the drawer shut immediately. "What the hell was that?! I could have sworn it moved!"

"Trust me, I've asked myself that over a hundred times since I've been here and I still don't have an answer. If you want to keep your appetite you should probably stop opening drawers."

"Duly noted," he said, quickly shutting all the open drawers and wiping his hands on a nearby towel. He turned to face her and only then did he notice that she was wearing her pajamas. He checked his watch and raised an eyebrow. "You're going to bed now? It's only just turned 7."

Rachel looked over herself and laughed. "No, we're having a girl's night at Monica's. Actually I was about to head over there until you showed up."

"Oh, sorry. I guess I got in your way, didn't I?"

"It's no problem. I kind of like this surprise visit." She smiled and put the comb down on a nearby table, walking over to him and wrapping her arms around his neck. They kissed softly as he placed his hands on her hips and pulled her closer. "Where've you been all week? I barely got to see you at all."

"I know. I've been so busy with the university and marking papers…" Ross gently rubbed her waist and planted a soft kiss on forehead. "I missed you."

"I missed you too. You know we haven't been together since last weekend? I was beginning to think you found another girl to have sex with," she joked.

Ross laughed. "Nope, I'm just as sex-starved as you." She grinned and he kissed her on the lips. "Ok, now I really need to find those tickets."

"Want me to help you?"

"That would be much appreciated." He smiled and kissed her again. They broke and began pulling open cupboards and looking under appliances.

A few minutes went by and though they practically searched the entire apartment, they still couldn't find them.

"This is ridiculous! Where could Joey have put those tickets?" Ross exclaimed.

Rachel thought for a moment. "Hey, maybe we're not looking in the right places. Think, where would you put hockey tickets if you were Joey?"

"I don't think it's humanly possible to think like that," he joked, earning a playful slap on the arm.

"Maybe not but I live with him and if I were to think of all the places my roommate puts most of his stuff, it'd probably be…" She slowly walked back to the kitchen with Ross right behind her. "…the fridge!"

In one motion Rachel swung open the fridge door and sure enough the Rangers tickets sat on the top shelf, right next to the jar of pickles and the half-eaten slice of pizza.

"Aha! I found it! I found it, I found it!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down as she grabbed the tickets and held them up.

"You did!" he exclaimed with a mixture of shock and amazement. "That's incredible! Rach, I could just kiss you!"

"Then why don't you?" she asked with a smile.

Ross grinned and in one motion he swept her off her feet in a deep, passionate kiss that left her completely breathless. When he set her down on the ground a moment later it took a second for the stars to disappear from her eyes and for her to regain her balance. Meanwhile Ross grabbed the tickets and held them up to the light to inspect them.

"God, I'm so glad we found these. We paid extra just so we could get good seats and if we-"

All of a sudden Rachel pounced on him, her legs wrapping tightly around his waist while her lips aggressively smashed against his. Ross stumbled from the unexpected weight, grabbing onto her legs so she wouldn't fall as he tried to regain some balance.

"Rach, _mfhh_ , what are you doing?" he asked through her barrage of kisses.

"Would you just shut up and kiss me?" she demanded, shoving her tongue inside his mouth.

This time Ross responded, kissing her back with just as much force and ferocity as she was. He had no idea what had gotten into them, but at that moment the game and the tickets were the farthest thing away from his mind.

Their tongues danced in each other's mouths, hungry and full of longing from a week's starvation. Ross pushed her up against the wall, running a hand up her body to her hand, interlacing fingers and pinning it above her head. He began sucking on her bottom lip sensuously and she moaned in return, running her free hand through his hair and pulling his head towards her to kiss her harder.

Eventually Ross' arms began to tire out and he moved them back into the kitchen, gently setting her down on the counter. His mouth immediately shifted from her lips to the crook of her neck, biting and sucking on all the spots he knew drove her mad. Another moan escaped Rachel's lips as she clutched onto his neck, savouring the pleasuring feeling of his amazing mouth at work.

"Ross… quickie?" she managed to say through her moans and heavy breathing.

He quickly pulled himself off her neck and looked into her eyes, sensing the uncontrollable lust between them. He looked at his watch, then back at her. "Five minutes, max."

"Ok."

Rachel quickly hopped off the counter and dashed to her room while Ross turned to lock the front door. As he fumbled to get his belt and pants off he turned to see Rachel sprint back out of her room with a condom in hand. Seeing him undress she ripped off her sweatpants, throwing them aside, and stepped out of her panties just as he removed his boxers. She immediately tore open the wrapper and helped him put it on, both of them getting in each other's way as she did.

Once the condom was secure Ross grabbed her by the legs and lifted her up, pinning her against the wall as he slipped inside her forcefully. Rachel gasped at the sudden feeling but soon found herself throwing her head back in a blissful daze as he began to rock his hips against her.

"Oh God… Oh God, Ross!" she yelled, followed by a throaty moan. "Yes! Ross! Oh, how did we go a week without doing this?"

"I have no idea," he answered, quickly returning to the crook of her neck. He felt her fingernails begin clawing at the back of his neck but all it did was egg him on as he thrust into her harder, making her practically scream.

Ross continued at a steady pace, loving the sounds she was making. Her moans sent shivers down his spine and her beautiful legs urged him on. Soon he found himself locking lips with hers, both of them kissing desperately, almost as if they couldn't get enough of one another.

A few minutes later he could tell she was coming to an end as he felt her walls constrict around him and her legs tighten their grip around his waist. Knowing he too was on the verge of finishing he put all his effort in the final few thrusts, plunging deeper inside her after every one. On the fifth thrust they both came to climax together, long sighs escaping their mouths before they found each other and let their tongues do one last dance. Ross set her down slowly but she still clutched onto his neck, their mouths remained connected until breathing became an issue and the reluctantly broke apart.

"Crap, I gotta go!" Ross exclaimed with a heavy breath after checking his watch. "Joey and Chandler have been waiting… for almost… half an hour!"

"Then quick, get dressed!" She handed him his boxers, quickly helped him clean up and get dressed.

"The tickets?" he asked, rushing to get his belt on.

"Right here!" she said, holding them up. Seeing that he didn't have any free hands she placed them in his mouth and he bit over them with his lips.

As soon as Ross fixed himself up he grabbed his jacket and headed for the door but Rachel stopped him.

"Wait!" she yelled and he spun around. She walked over to him and removed the tickets from his mouth, going on her toes so she could leave him one last, deep kiss. "Have fun at the game," she whispered seductively in his ear and he felt shivers run down his back.

"Oh God Rach, please put on some pants before I decide to stay."

Rachel smirked and grabbed his hand, teasingly running it up her thigh. "I'll be here whenever you get back," she coed and Ross' eyes widened.

"I gotta get out of here," he said, grabbing the tickets and stealing a quick kiss from her lips before turning around and leaving the apartment.

As the door closed behind him Rachel smiled at the doorway, touching her lips where he last kissed her. With a satisfied sigh, she grabbed her clothes from the ground and headed for the bathroom to clean herself up.

Meanwhile downstairs Ross burst through the building doors to find Joey and Chandler sitting on the curb throwing small rocks onto the street. When they heard the doors open behind them, they spun around to see him holding up the three tickets.

"What took you so long? The game starts in like 15 minutes!" Joey exclaimed.

"Well excuse me, I didn't exactly have the best clues to finding them," Ross countered.

"Look, it doesn't matter. Ross has the tickets so let's go!" Chandler jumped in and the two of them nodded in agreement.

The three of them began heading down the street towards the subway station as Ross handed out the tickets to the rest of them.

"Oh and Joey…"

"Yeah?" he asked, taking his ticket.

"…clean out your drawers!"

…

"…and so basically he said he had to leave, but right before he got in the cab, David told me he loved me!"

Rachel and Monica awed while Phoebe smiled proudly. The girls were sitting around the coffee table munching on some popcorn in their pajamas as Phoebe recounted her night with David, her old boyfriend who came to visit from Minsk.

"Aww, that's awesome Pheebs! I'm so happy for you!" Rachel coed.

"Oh, I remember when Chandler first said that to me," Monica said. "How did he do it? Did he kiss you first? Oh, did he brush your hair off to the side?"

"No, uh, technically he didn't say it. He said something else and told me he wanted to say it, but since he was going back to Minsk it just wasn't the right time."

"Wait, so he's not staying?" Monica questioned.

Phoebe shook her head but managed a smile. "No, but its ok. Just knowing he loves me is good enough and if it's meant to be, fate will bring us together eventually." The girls awed again.

"That's such a great way of thinking about it Pheebs. See if I knew fate was going to pair me up with Chandler, I wouldn't have wasted all those years chasing after other guys."

"Speaking of which, how are you and Chandler doing?" Rachel asked.

"Oh, we're doing amazing. We're both super excited for the wedding in a few months and I think he's already started writing out his vows."

"And what about after? Do you know what you want to do after you guys get married?" Phoebe asked.

Monica smiled. "Oh… I don't know… maybe we start looking towards having kids…" The girls exploded in giddiness and Monica placed a finger over her smiling lips. "Shh! But you can't tell Chandler. I don't want to freak him out more than he already is."

"He's freaking out over the wedding?"

"You know Chandler, always scared about commitment… but enough about me!" Monica suddenly turned her attention to Rachel who sunk lower to the floor from the two gazes looking at her. "Rachel, you haven't told us much about your love life. What's going on with you?"

Rachel inadvertently blushed, remembering what happened in her apartment just hours earlier. The feeling of her lover's touch still lingered on her skin and truthfully ever since then her mind has been in a completely different world, although she wouldn't tell them that.

"Uh, you know, nothing much. Just living that single life, nothing's really going on…" She noticed Phoebe staring at her with eyes that seemed to be inspecting her, and she raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You had sex!" Phoebe suddenly exploded, catching both her and Monica off-guard and leaving her completely dumbfounded.

"Um… uh, no I didn't…" Rachel flustered, her cheeks turning a bright shade of red.

"Oh my God! You totally did!" Monica exclaimed, now joining in with Phoebe.

"You know, I thought your aura has been a lot lighter and happy lately but you're practically radiating right now!" Phoebe added.

She groaned and raised a hand to stop her friends. "Ok! Ok! Yes, I am sleeping with someone."

"Why didn't you tell us you were dating someone?" Monica asked, slapping her shoulder.

"I'm-, we're not dating," Rachel answer quickly. "We're just seeing each other."

"Yeah, seeing each other naked," Phoebe chimed and Monica snickered.

"Ok, so who is it?" Monica questioned.

"I… I can't say."

"What? Oh come on Rach, we won't tell anyone," Monica pressured but she shook her head.

"No, I can't. We agreed to keep this just between the two of us," she said firmly.

"Ooh, so a _secret_ lover. That sounds like fun," Phoebe marveled.

Rachel smiled. "Oh, it really is."

"Ok, well if you won't tell us who he is, tell us how he is. Is he good in bed?" Monica questioned.

Rachel's smile grew as the memories of the past months all flashed before her eyes. "Oh, he is _amazing_ in bed. Literally the best, and I mean the _best_ , I have ever had. He's so gentle with the way he touches me, but then he's also got this forceful side that I absolutely love. God, and he knows me so well; he knows exactly where to touch me, where to kiss, what positions make me go crazy… When I'm with him I feel like I'm on cloud nine and I just never want it to stop. I just want to stay there, in his arms, and never leave."

"Wow Rach, that sounds amazing," Monica commented. "I don't think I could come close to describing sex with Chandler like that."

"Yeah Rach, you're even getting me a little riled up," Phoebe added and she smiled widely in response.

"Ok, ok, but the real question is this." Monica lifted her hands in front of her, first placing them an inch apart then slowly moving them apart. Rachel just sat there smiling, biting her bottom lip as Monica's hands moved farther, and farther, and farther away until her eyes widened at the massive distance between her hands. "Are you serious?"

Rachel laughed. "No."

"Rachel!"

She rolled her eyes. "If you guys really want to know, all I can tell you it's perfect. Not too big, not too small, just perfect. Everything about him is perfect. And the way he uses it… _oh God_ , I just want to melt."

"Ok, seriously stop it. I getting really horny right now," Phoebe said and the three of them laughed.

"Rach, you really won't tell us who it is?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry Mon but I can't. This is going so well for us, I really don't want to ruin it."

"Alright, you win," Monica said, holding her hands up to show she's given up. She noticed the dreamy look on Rachel's face and beamed. "Wow Rach, I haven't seen that look of yours in so long. This guy must be really special to you."

Rachel smiled, wrapping her arms around her body as if wishing they were his as she gazed out the window into the night sky.

"He really is. He really, really is."

…

 **Author's Note: A 'quick' chapter for the 'quickie'. Haha, get it? No, but in all seriousness I know these past few chapters have been on the shorter side. As I've mentioned before, I'm really not a fluff writer and it looks like my inexperience is really starting to catch on. Truth be told, I'm on the brink of running out of ideas for fluff chapters so I guess once all these are done, we'll move on to the more dramatic parts.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed and be sure to leave a review. I'm looking to get some feedback on how I've been doing so far so if you could spare a minute to write one out, that would be greatly appreciated. Aside from that, take care everyone and I'll see you next chapter.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Ross walked up the stairwell, whistling to himself as he shifted the brightly coloured present from one hand to the other. Reaching the top of the stairs, he immediately headed towards the well recognized apartment door, turning the knob and walking in.

When he stepped inside the apartment however, his whistling stopped as what he saw was not what he expected. Balloons and ribbons were strewn all along the wall and the large banner they had made yesterday was hung up across the room, but what he was really surprised to see was everyone crowded around a certain door that remained shut.

"Hey, what's going on?" he asked, setting his present on the counter.

"Ross, thank God you're here. Rachel won't leave her room and we don't know what to do," Monica explained, grabbing his arm and leading him to the others who were busy trying to coax her out.

"Rachel, come on out!" Chandler shouted, knocking on the door.

"Yeah, Monica made breakfast!" Phoebe added.

"Chocolate chip pancakes!" she clarified, knowing it was one of Rachel's favourites. For a second the door handle began to shake and the group thought they had finally gotten through, but when the shaking stopped they realised that all Rachel had done was lock the door. Monica groaned and turned to her brother. "See? We can't get her out."

"Do you know why she doesn't want to leave her room?" he asked.

"We think she's upset about turning thirty."

He raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Before Monica could answer Joey began knocking loudly on the door. "Rachel!"

His sister turned back to him and gave him a look. "You think?"

"Here, let me try," Ross said, stepping forward and placing a hand on Joey's shoulder to get him to stop. He motioned for everyone to take a step back and paused for a moment before he gently knocked on the door. "Rachel? It's me, can you open the door?" he called out in a soft tone.

"Go away, just leave me alone," came her voice through the door.

"Rachel sweetie, we're all waiting for you to come out. We have food, and presents, and decorations all set up."

"I don't care."

Ross sighed, looking at his friends then turning back to the door. "Rachel, please just open the door. Please... _for me_?" he pleaded, asking the last part in a quiet tone just loud enough for her to hear but not the others.

A moment later the knob began to jiggle and to the others' surprise, the door swung open revealing a very saddened Rachel. Her eyes scanned the room, looking at her friends and all the decorations they put up, until they stopped on the large banner that read 'Happy 30th Birthday Rachel!' To her, the large number '30' seemed to stare menacingly at her, boring a hole into her chest and at that moment, she completely broke.

"I'm thirty!" she bawled, turning and burying her face in Ross' chest. He was completely caught off guard but wrapped his arms around her nonetheless, feeling her tear up into his shirt.

"Sweetie, it's not that big a deal. We're all thirty here," he consoled, gently caressing her hair.

"Yeah come on Rach, just suck it up," Joey added.

Rachel sniffled and turned to look at him. "Oh yeah? Is that what you did on your thirtieth birthday? You just _sucked it up_?" she countered, remembering how poorly Joey had taken the news of him turning thirty.

"Hey that was different! God and I had a deal!" he ranted and everyone rolled their eyes.

Ross turned back to Rachel, who remained in his arms. "So, are you ready to start celebrating your birthday?"

She looked down and sighed sadly. "I guess so…"

"Then would the birthday girl like some breakfast?" he asked and she nodded.

"I was also told there would be presents?" she asked innocently.

Ross laughed. "You'll get them soon enough.

"Good ones?"

"They're all from that list you gave us two weeks ago."

Finally she managed a small smile, and though it didn't last very long he would take what he could get. He gently kissed her on her forehead before letting her out of his arms as the group gathered in the kitchen where Monica was handing out plates.

After the pancakes were served everyone took a seat around the table that had been set up in the middle of the room, with Rachel sitting at the head and Ross to her right. The mood still wasn't as upbeat as most of them thought it would be, if anything it was dead, but there was only so much you can ask for when the birthday girl wears a depressed look on her face.

Rachel poked at her pancake and took a bite, slumping in her seat. Ross gently rubbed her hand and she turned to face him, giving his hand a soft squeeze to show she was grateful for him being there. She still wasn't happy though.

"Look Rach, I know turning thirty is tough but you're in a great place in your life," Monica acknowledged. "You have an amazing job, good friends, nice place to stay…"

"Yeah, I know my life is going pretty well," she poked at her pancake again, "but I look around and see so many people who have accomplished so many of their goals by the time their thirty. Like look at Pheebs. She managed to do all those wacky things she wanted before she turned thirty."

Phoebe smiled. "Yeah but you shouldn't compare yourself to me. Besides, I found out that I was actually thirty-one when I turned thirty. Try losing a whole year of your life in one day, then come complaining to me."

"Yeah Pheebs, I'm still a little confused about that. So right now are you thirty-one or thirty-two?" Monica asked.

"I'm thirty-one. I decided to go with the younger age since that's what I've been living since forever. Plus, I think I pull off a great thirty-one-year-old," she said, flicking her hair back proudly.

Rachel huffed and crossed her arms. "I wish I could lose a year of age…"

"Hey, come on now, let's not get all upset. It's your thirty-first birthday! Let's have some fun, huh?" Chandler suggested, jumping up and trying to lighten up the mood. However he stopped when he saw everyone glaring at him and suddenly he realised his slip up, but it was too late as Rachel was already beginning to break down again.

"I'm thirty!" she blurted out, burying her face in her hands.

Ross immediately reached over and brought her in a hug, giving Chandler a dirty look. 'Nice one,' he mouthed and Chandler slowly sat back down, earning a punch on the arm from Monica.

"Damn it Chandler, just because you didn't have fun on your thirtieth birthday doesn't mean you have to ruin everyone else's!" Monica scolded.

"Alright, I'm sorry, it was a mistake," he said, sinking down in his seat. "And by the way my birthday was going great before _someone_ decided to spoil the fun." He stared across the table at Joey.

"Hey! I had a deal with God for you, and he broke that one too!" Joey exclaimed and Chandler face-palmed.

…

Sometime later Rachel finally seemed to calm down after some comforting from Ross and the group found themselves seated around the table once again.

"So, what do you want to do today Rach?" Ross asked.

"Nothing, I don't want to do anything," she responded, still sporting an unhappy look as she quietly played with her hands.

"Well, doing nothing is still better than doing something stupid, like Ross," Monica chimed in, giving her brother a look.

Ross chuckled, rubbing his temple at the embarrassing memory. "Oh God, I remember that. What was I thinking?"

"Well you certainly weren't using your brain. Who the hell goes out on their thirtieth birthday and spends fifteen grand on a sports car they know nothing about?" Chandler quipped.

"Hey, I actually thought it was a practical purchase. I could get around the city easier, I could go see Ben whenever I wanted, and I could have given you all rides too!"

"…If you could have gotten it out of that parking spot," Phoebe pointed out, getting some chuckles.

"Yeah, remember how long we tried getting that thing out of there? We practically spent the entire day trying to move that car, oh and remember when we tried to lift it up?" Joey reminded.

"Do I remember?" Ross stood up and pretended to lift something with his hands then sliding it across. " _Lift_ … _and slide_ …!" he exclaimed in his strange voice, making everyone burst out laughing as he repeated his hand actions. Even Rachel managed a soft laugh, which didn't go unnoticed. "Hey, look who's smiling now! What, you take joy in my misery?"

"Only when you make yourself look stupid," she smiled, earning a playful nudge on the shoulder before joining in on the laughter.

For a moment it seemed like things were finally starting to look up. She was finally laughing, and smiling, and having fun on her birthday until she got up to grab a drink and her eyes landed on the birthday banner. The same large '30' glared at her and just like that, her mood saddened and tears began welling up in her eyes again.

"Oh… so close," Phoebe said, seeing the look on Rachel's face.

"Take it down! Take it down!" Monica urged through her teeth and Chandler and Joey immediately scrambled to take down the banner.

Meanwhile Ross quickly went over and turned her away from the banner, bringing her back to her seat. "No no, don't look. Did you want something to drink?"

"Orange juice?" she answered in a dejected tone.

"Of course sweetie, anything for you." Ross headed into the kitchen to retrieve a glass as Phoebe gently rubbed her friend's shoulders.

"Rach, I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but don't you think you might be overreacting a little bit?" Monica asked cautiously.

Before she could answer, Phoebe snorted. "You're one to talk. It's not like you handled your thirtieth well either."

"Hey, well-, I... you got drunk too!" she shot back, crossing her arms in her seat.

Just then Ross returned to the table with a glass of orange juice in hand. "Here you go," he said softly, placing it in front of Rachel.

"Thank you," she replied softly, taking a sip from the glass.

"So, what were we talking about?"

"Oh you know, how Monica got drunk on her thirtieth birthday," Phoebe answered smiling.

"I remember that," Ross said, turning to his sister to mock her. "Mom and Dad were so mad. I still have a recording of the whole thing."

"Of what? Of Monica wasted?" Joey jumped in, joining in along with Chandler after ripping apart the banner.

"You know what I'm talking about?"

"Of course I know what you're talking about! I love that recording!" he exclaimed. "I laugh my ass off whenever I watch it."

Monica huffed. "It wasn't that funny…"

"I'm sorry honey but it really was," Chandler said laughing, but saw the look on his fiancée's face and stopped. "Um… I mean, uh, it must have really hurt when you passed out?"

"See Rach? You're not the only one who isn't taking their thirtieth birthday well. Hell, we all did something that ruined it some way or another," Phoebe pointed out.

"I guess… but it still doesn't make me feel any better," Rachel said, looking down with a sad look.

"I know what might cheer you up. Why don't we open your birthday gifts?" Ross suggested and she perked.

"Ok."

Everyone went to grab their gifts and returned to their seats as Rachel eagerly waited to see what her friends got her. Though she was still upset over everything gifts always made her happy and she sure could use something to take her mind of things.

"Alright, why don't you open mine first?" Ross proposed, pushing his present towards her.

Rachel took a moment to admire Ross' gift wrappings before taking off the bow and ripping it open. Beneath the wrapping paper was a black box that read 'Bloomingdales' and when she opened the lid, it revealed the elegant blue dress she had asked for.

"Thank you Ross, just what I wanted," she smiled, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Ooh! Ooh! Open mine next!" Phoebe encouraged, handing her a small box the size of her hand. Rachel quickly opened it to find a glimmering pair of earrings staring back at her.

"Aww, thanks Pheebs," she said, giving her a hug.

"Ok, now it's my turn," Joey announced, walking over and handing her a rather large box. "This wasn't on your list but I think you're really going to like it!"

Everyone's eyes widened as Rachel eyed the box curiously. She began to rip open the wrapping paper on one side until it revealed a picture of what was inside and the large word 'SCOOTER' written across.

"A scooter...!" Rachel exclaimed with a fake enthusiasm.

"I know right!" Joey said excitedly, oblivious to her actual reaction. "Isn't it great? You can ride it around and stuff! Oh, and I hope you'll let me borrow it sometimes…"

Ross shook his head and dragged Joey back to his seat. "Dude, next time just stick with the list," he said and Joey just shrugged.

"Ok, I guess we're up last. This one's from Monica and I," Chandler said, handing over a wrapped box.

"What, now that you're a couple we don't get two presents from you guys?" Joey questioned, seeing how they only gave one present.

Chandler gave him a look. "Joey, for my last birthday hug."

"Enough you two," Monica said, rolling her eyes. "Rach, why don't you open it?"

The attention was brought back to Rachel as she examined the present in front of her.

"Oh hey, there's a card on here!" She ripped it off and took it out of the envelope, wondering what it said until she saw the front. She opened her mouth to speak but paused, feeling tears beginning to appear in her eyes. She re-adjusted and began to read out loud in a heartbreaking tone.

"'Happy birthday _grandma_!''"

Everyone's eyes immediately widened but none larger than Chandler's as his eyes were literal saucer plates and his mouth hung open. He felt everyone stare at him with expressions of shock and disbelief, and to be truthful he didn't believe it either. He had totally forgotten what was on that card and seeing Rachel breaking down as she read the card made him realise he couldn't let her finish the card.

"'It's better to be over the hill…'" Rachel continued, her voice breaking after every word.

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" Chandler jumped from his seat and snatched the card from Rachel's hand as she opened it, but it was too late.

"'…than buried under it!'" Rachel finished, tears beginning to fall from her eyes. "'All our love, Monica and Chandler.' That's funny!"

"No, no, no! Rach don't cry! That was a joke!" Chandler exclaimed, guilt rising into his chest.

"No, I know, I get it. It's funny!" she cried, failing holding back tears as her voice broke every which way.

"No, b-because you're not a grandmother!" he shouted nervously.

"No, I know, because to be a grandmother you have to be married and have children, and I don't have any of those things! That's why it's so funny!"

When she finished a hand went up to cover her mouth as more tears streamed down her devastated face. She immediately got up and ran to her room with Ross trying to catch up to her but all he got was a door slammed in his face.

"Rachel! Rachel, please open up." He knocked on the door but all he heard from the other side was her uncontrollable sobbing and crying. His heart broke hearing her and he turned around, glaring at Chandler. "Really Chandler? Again?"

Chandler ran a hand down his face and hung his head low, once again taking another shameful seat. As he did Phoebe shook her head at him while Joey gave him a look.

"All you had to do was buy the card!" Monica exasperated and with that, Chandler slammed his head on the table.

…

Hours later the group was cleaning up after the 'celebration', wiping down the tables and taking down all the balloons and decorations. Rachel still hadn't come out of her room, not even Ross could get her to open up, so the mood in the apartment was somewhat down. Everyone felt guilty for how things had gone, Chandler in particular, and they all worked in silence.

When the final ribbon was taken and put in Monica's 'Re-usable Decorations' box, the sound of a door opening got all of their attentions as everyone spun around to see Rachel step out into the living room, a heartbreaking look on her face. Her eyes were red and tears still stained her cheeks. It literally looked like she had cried the life out of her.

"Rach, you finally came out," Phoebe said cautiously.

Rachel didn't answer and looked around the room. "You guys took down all the decorations?"

"Um, yeah. You weren't coming out of your room so we decided to clean up a little bit earlier than planned," Monica explained. "But actually Gunther said he had prepared a cake for you down at the coffee shop so we were going to all go down later."

Silence followed as nobody really knew what to say. Rachel just stared at her feet while everyone else watched her with sympathetic looks. That's when Chandler decided to step up, clearing his throat as he scratched the back of his head.

"Listen Rach, about earlier, I'm really sorry about that card. I didn't mean to hurt you with it, it was just supposed to be a joke," he explained in a sorrowful voice. "I hope you're not angry with me."

"No Chandler, I know. I'm not mad. And really I'm the one who should be sorry, to all of you. You guys put in so much work in making this day special for me and I ruined it. I'm sorry." She looked down, gently rubbing her arm.

"It's ok Rach. We all know turning thirty is hard. We understand," Joey said. She nodded slightly but her head remained lowered.

"How about we all head down to the coffee house and get you that cake?" Monica offered.

"You guys go ahead. I'm not feeling like celebrating much right now…" she answered solemnly.

"Are you going to be alright?" Ross asked, his voice filled with sincerity.

"Yeah… I just… I need some time alone for a little while…"

"That's alright. Take as much time as you need Rach. You know where to find us when you're ready," Monica said.

Rachel looked up and nodded slowly. Then, without another word she headed for Monica and Chandler's apartment, opening and closing the front door behind her as the rest of her friends watched her leave with solemn looks on their faces.

"Wow, you guys she's actually really sad about this. I had no idea she'd take turning thirty this hard," Phoebe remarked.

"You guys think she'll actually be alright?" Joey asked.

"She just needs a bit of time," Monica answered quickly, although she wasn't quite sure herself. "Let's just head down and give her some space."

Finishing up with the rest of the cleaning, the group silently filed out the door, heading towards the stairwell without a word spoken between them. Ross was the last one to leave, gently closing the door behind him, deep in thought. He slowly turned and stared at the door across the hall, lingering behind the others.

Phoebe was right, Rachel rarely gets this upset over something and he was immensely worried about her. That look on her face when she came out of her room, he hated seeing her like that. It broke his heart just imagining her going through all that alone.

"Hey guys," he said suddenly. "I think I'm going to stay behind for a bit."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Chandler asked, eyeing the door.

"Yeah, I just need to make sure she's ok."

The rest of the group shared a look with each other but it was Monica who stepped forward and placed a hand on her brother's shoulder.

"Good luck," she said, kissing him on the cheek.

"Thanks," Ross smiled, giving her hand a quick squeeze. He watched as the rest of his friends made their way down the stairs and as soon as they were out of view, he slowly turned the doorknob and entered the apartment quietly.

At first it didn't seem like Rachel was anywhere in the apartment but he quickly spotted her on the balcony, leaning on the balcony walls and gazing out into the darkening sky. He slowly made his way over, quietly slipping through the window and joining her outside.

"Hey," he said softly, his voice slightly startling her. She looked at him for a second but she returned back to the view, letting out a sigh.

"Didn't I ask to be alone?"

"I thought that was one of those situations where we tell the guys we want to be alone but we actually sneak off to have sex," he joked, walking over and standing next to her. She didn't laugh but he did spot a small smile on her face and he was glad he could still get through to him.

For a while the two of them stood in silence, both of them gazing out at the view overlooking the city. The sun was beginning to set and the colours in the sky turned to a beautiful array of purple, orange and yellow. The darkening clouds stretched along the skyline, spreading a wave of calmness across the painting. It was truly a natural beauty, where heaven touched the earth and all else disappeared. Simply, beautiful.

As the breathtaking show of lights flickered above them, Ross turned to Rachel who seemed to be lost in thought.

"Hey, you ok?" he asked softly, snapping her out of her reverie.

Rachel sighed again and turned to him. "If I'm going to be honest… not really."

"Come here," he said, opening his arms and letting her walk into his embrace. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and rocked them slowly, feeling her rest her head against his chest. "Can I ask you something?"

"Ok," she answered, remaining in her position.

"What exactly are you upset about?" He felt her shift around uneasily and he let her walk out of his arms, returning back to her position on the wall as she stared back out at the large city.

"How do you know something's upsetting me?"

"Because I know you Rach, and I know this is more than just the fact that you're getting older." He reached over and took her hand is his, gently rubbing circles on the back. "Talk to me."

Rachel turned away, looking down. "You're going to think it's stupid…"

"Try me."

She sighed and turned back to the view. "The truth… the truth is you're right. I am upset about the fact that I'm not getting any younger but it's more than that. It's the fact that I'm turning thirty and I feel like I've accomplished nothing in my life while everyone else seems to be exactly where they want to be."

He gave a curious look. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I look at all of you and I feel like my life is such a disappointment. Like look at Monica and Chandler. They're engaged! They're going to get married and they have the rest of their life right in front of them. Then there's Pheebs who has her whole fate analogy going for her and Joey, who's just fine remaining single. Even you have a son to look after and to care for. Me… I have nothing."

Rachel felt a wave of sadness fill her body as a tear began to slide down her cheek, but to her surprise Ross gently wiped it away before it got anywhere. She turned and glanced into his large, caring eyes, feeling more tears building up and quickly wiping them away with the sleeve of her shirt.

"You know, when I was younger I always thought that by the time I turned thirty I'd have a family, with a husband and kids and everything. It was my dream and I spent all of my twenties trying to accomplish that, but look at me now. I'm thirty and have none of the things I wanted. I'm in the same situation I was a decade ago with nothing to show for it. I… I'm just a failure!"

A sob escaped her mouth and unable to hold back her tears any longer, she quickly turned away and let the tears flow down her cheek. She felt so weak, so lost. She hated him seeing her like this but at this point, she no longer cared. She just wanted to drown in her sorrow and let this horrible day end already.

"Wow, that is pretty stupid."

Her eyes widened and she spun around, tears spilling out of her eyes as she couldn't believe what he just said.

"What?!"

Ross chuckled lightly at her shocked expression and sweetly wiped away some more tears, giving her a sincere smile. "I said it's stupid, because it is. Rachel, you're not a failure. You'll never be a failure. Just look at what you've done in your twenties. You left Barry at the altar, knowing that that wasn't the life you wanted. You left the spoiled life your father provided and struck out on your own. You experienced the real world and worked sweat and grim as a waitress. You decided to take a chance to follow your dreams and pursue a career in fashion. You worked your way up the fashion chain and now, you're a manager at the great Ralph Lauren!"

Ross tilted her chin up, looking into her beautiful blue eyes. "Rachel… what I'm trying to say is that you are not a failure. You're a beautiful, strong and courageous woman. You're more successful in your life than any of us are, and while you may not have achieved your dream of a family, you more than achieved the rest of your dreams. And I know that one day you'll have everything you ever dreamed of too."

Through her tears, Rachel managed a smile and let out a soft laugh. "Don't tell me you believe in all that fate stuff."

He smiled and shrugged. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't. But I know that you'll find the person for you, and that person is going to be the luckiest guy alive to get to share their life with an amazing woman like you. Just because your twenties are over doesn't mean you won't be able to achieve your dream. You don't need to wish that you were younger or be upset that you're now in your thirties, because you have the rest of your life to find someone special, and I know it will happen."

Rachel's smile grew and without warning, she crushed him with a tight hug. It took him a moment to react but when he did, he wrapped his arms affectionately around her.

"Thank you," he heard her whisper into his chest and he softly kissed her hair.

"Anything for you," he whispered back, hugging her back. Suddenly he remembered something and slipped out of the embrace, feeling his pocket. "Actually I just remembered, I have a little gift here for you."

Rachel looked up at him curiously. "Another gift? I thought that dress was my gift."

Ross chuckled. "No, that was just a gift to give you in front of the others. _This_ is my actual gift to you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box, handing it to her.

"What is it?" she asked, feeling the weight of the box in her hand.

"Open it."

She did what she was told and opened the lid. Inside was a beautiful golden necklace along with a smooth circular pendant that glimmered with the light's reflection. Her eyes began to water, this time more from happiness then sadness as she took the necklace out of the box and held it out. It was a simple, yet elegant piece of jewelry. Exactly how she liked it.

"Ross…" she started, unable to continue as she was at a loss of words. Tears glimmered in her eyes and he smiled into them.

"Here, let me help you put it on."

He took the necklace from her hands as she turned around, gently wrapping it around her neck and clipping it on at the back. She turned back and felt the pendant, running her hand along the circle's edge.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

"I love it," she smiled, looking at his affectionately. "But I'm curious, why a circle?"

Ross smiled and ran his thumb across the circle's face, following its unending path around and around. "Because a circle is never ending. It might start at a certain point but it always comes back around; again, and again, and again. Start, finish; younger, older; past, future; none of it matters when it comes to a circle because it all comes back around in the end. It's a complete cycle and in this case, it's supposed to show that no matter what position your life is in, it's never too late to do what you really want."

Rachel took his hand and looked down, seeing both of them holding the pendant together. "That's such a beautiful meaning."

"Thanks, I just thought of it," he joked lightly, earning a slap on the shoulder.

She looked back down and admired the pendant, deciding at that moment that it would forever be her favourite piece of jewelry. "How did you know to get me a circular pendant? What, you knew I'd get all upset over turning thirty?"

"I had a hunch…"

She laughed softly and leaned forward, resting her forehead on his. Her eyes locked with his and she wondered if he could see just how appreciative she was towards him. Not just his present or his moving words, but him; the only person in the world who could cheer her up in the darkest of times.

"Thank you, Ross. Thank you for everything."

"Happy birthday Rach," he smiled. Before either of them knew it, they both leaned forward and their lips locked in a passionate, blissful kiss; one that neither of them would be forgetting for a long time.

When they broke, still holding onto one another, they turned in each other's arms to watch the sun finally go down behind the horizon. The light disappeared and out came the stars as the night sky took over above. As he watched nature's beautiful power at work Ross felt her squeeze him tighter as she snuggled up against him. He smiled and hugged her back, fully enjoying this moment with someone truly special to him.

"Hmm, you know what I really want right now?" she asked sometime later.

"What's that?"

Rachel looked up at him and smiled. "I want to feel younger. I want to feel like I'm twenty, just one last time before I wake up tomorrow knowing I'm in my thirties."

Ross raised an eyebrow. "I thought I convinced you that there's nothing wrong with being thirty."

"You did, I'm totally over that. But I still just want to feel younger, just for these last few moments of my twenties." She gave him a sly smile. "Maybe you can help me with that?"

Ross looked into her eyes and noticed the glimmer inside of them, finally realising what she was talking about and laughed. "Rachel, are you asking me for birthday sex?"

"Maybe…"

"You know the guys are waiting for us down at the coffee house. They're expecting us any moment now…" he trailed off, pretending to be uninterested in her request.

She pouted. "Are you saying 'no' to me on my birthday?"

Ross laughed softly and pulled her closer; staring into her eyes as he gently brushed his lips across hers. "Never. You know I'd do anything for you on your birthday."

"Hmm, _anything_?"

"Anything, absolutely anything."

She smiled against his lips. "Good, I'm going to hold you to that because right now I only have one wish, and only you help make it true."

Ross laughed one more time before their lips finally connected in a blissful, passionate kiss. Her lips parted for his and they both sunk into it, feeling the world begin to disappear around them.

As their kissing went on, developing into something more desperate and more aggressive, he felt her hands slowly run up his chest, feeling every muscle beneath his shirt all the way up to his neck. But before her arms could wrap around his neck to bring him closer, he suddenly grabbed her arms and broke the kiss, spinning around behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. He began placing small kisses all along the back of her neck, making her giggle as she wrapped her arms on top of his.

"Would the birthday girl like to take this inside?" Ross whispered gently into her ear.

"Mmmm, she would. She really, really would," she purred, leaning back against him.

"Then let's go make that wish come true."

Together they slowly began making their way back into the apartment, never letting go of each other as they enjoyed this moment in their lives where their age was just a number, and nothing more. It didn't represent anything and it didn't dictate their lives; they simply felt _ageless_.

And as they entered back in the apartment they hoped that maybe, just maybe, they could find a burst of youth somewhere to make one final birthday wish come true.

…

 **Author's Notes: Thank you all so much for the feedback! I got some great reviews that really lightened up my day and I am truly appreciative.**

 **I'm also glad to see that some of you are ready for some drama to start kicking in. Writing fluff was fun but I too am a little anxious to get things rolling a bit and spice up this story. There are still three other chapters that'll be used to build up to the main conflict, but as soon as those are out you can be sure we're going to hit the ground running.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed. Take care.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Rachel collapsed on the bed, heaving heavily as her mind swirled in her head. She literally felt like her brain had completely left her body. Her eye sight was blurry, she couldn't think straight, and she felt as if her entire body was paralyzed, but at the same time, she regretted none of it as she had just experienced one the most pleasurable events of her life.

A second after she did Ross also collapsed on the bed next to her, his entire body covered in a thin layer of sweat and fresh scratch marks all over his back. His breaths were just as heavy as hers and he too was completely exhausted.

For a minute, neither of them moved. Only the sound of deep, heavy breathing could be heard but aside from that, the two of them remained in their sprawled positions on the bed, trying to regain their composure and at the same time, trying to wrap their heads around the incredible experience of what happened.

Eventually Ross finally caught his breath and he managed to prop himself up on his elbow, gently using his other hand to brush away the hair that covered her otherwise dumbfounded face.

"So, how was that?" he asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"What?" was all she could answer and he chuckled at her stunned look.

"That's what I thought," he said, giving her a kiss on the lips before peeling himself off the bed-sheets, heading to the bathroom to get cleaned up.

While Ross was in the bathroom, Rachel remained in her position on the bed, staring up at the ceiling with her dazed look. Her mind was still struggling to catch up with everything that happened that night - she certainly knew she found some new things tonight. One in particular, she discovered the Ross' more aggressive side that not many people knew about. Hell, she didn't even know much about it other than a few glimpses from past experiences, but tonight she really found out just how assertive he could be and she absolutely loved it.

This week had been the week of new things. One of the many benefits of their relationship was the chance to try different things; things they normally would be hesitant to try even in a normal relationship. Some of these things were also completely foreign to them and it really pushed them out of their comfort zones, but all of it was to further exhilarate their sex and as it seems, things have worked out better than planned.

Earlier in the week they had experimented with different foods and drinks, though they weren't entirely new with this concept as they had experimented back when they had dated. This time however, it was far more enjoyable as they had brought a wide variety of sustenance ranging from hot to colds, sweet to sour, and even dry to sticky. And in the end, the mess aside, it had been quiet a pleasurable and tasty night.

Then just a couple days ago, they had really tested their boundaries by brining props and toys to the bedroom with them. It had been one of the more experimental nights they've had, even more so than the foods since some of the items they brought were things they have never used before. They even went as far as bringing a blindfold and even a pair of handcuffs to try out, and while some may consider it kinky, they simply called it 'testing'.

And tonight? Tonight had been the night of different forms of sex, including new positions and different ways of going about the act. Their new positions had brought them all around the room and she doubted there was a single spot that they hadn't been in. And as for the sex itself, they tried different speeds and methods of using their bodies.

They had even tried this new thing Ross' co-worker had suggested called 'no-touching' sex where he would sit down on a chair and she would straddle his lap, but they would not be allowed to touch or kiss one another. At first it seemed like it was something that could easily be accomplished, but as time went on and they really began sinking into their movements, it was incredibly difficult for them to resist touching each other. You never really know how much you use your hands during sex until you're restricted from privilege of touching, and for the two of them, it had been so torturous that they had to bite their tongues to stop themselves from mashing their mouths together.

And finally, to end off the night and their week of trails they had decided to have some rough sex to top it all off. Though the idea of rough sex was pretty common, for them, it was a pretty big deal. Both of them were more or less slow lovers, enjoying the intricacies of sex and taking it at a slow, relaxing pace rather than the hurried and forceful version of rough sex. For Rachel in particular, she had never really been into having sex aggressively, mostly due to her lack of experience. That's not to say she's never had it before, but the few times she did have it with her former partners, it had always ended up as a huge disappointment, so to say she was curious to see how Ross would fare was an understatement. She had to admit, she had her doubts.

But when they started, all those doubts disappeared as she experienced something absolutely magical. Ross had always struck her as a tender and loving type, kind of like her, so when he started it out by turning her around abruptly and entering her without warning, she had been completely caught off guard. The surprises didn't stop there either as not only did he move with a force that she's never felt before, but whenever she began getting used to their position, he would flip her over suddenly and take her from a completely different angle, making her stay on her edge the entire time. He had been so good at it that at some points, she didn't even believe it was him until she managed to open her eyes between moans and see his face directly above her.

And now here she was, lying on his bed, fully exhausted yet completely amazed at what just took place. Until today, she didn't believe it was possible for her to have such hard sex that she would forget her own name, but in this case, that was exactly what happened. It actually took multiple minutes for the first thought to return to her mind and even then, she felt like her entire body was still shaking from the pleasures she experienced.

Eventually her senses were returned and she could begin to think properly once more. Still in her stretched out position, she closed her eyes and let reality sink in around her.

She loved it. She really, truly did. Not just tonight, not just this week, but all of it. Sex was already amazing in itself, but sex with him - sex with _Ross_ \- that was something else all together.

With him, she just felt comfortable, like there was just this unspoken sense understanding between them. Unlike others she's been with, she never have to worry about how she is in bed, or who is pleasured more. There isn't this need to impress him or to show him a side of her that isn't her. With him she can be honest; telling him exactly what she likes and dislikes without having to sugar-coat anything.

And the part she loves the most about being with him is not the kissing, not the touching, not even the sex, but it's the fact that he knows her so well. He knows where to kiss her and exactly when to touch her. He knows every single little detail of her body, every curve and every crevice, and he even knows exactly how to pleasure every part of her body. He's the only man who's ever been able to memorize her body from top to bottom, inside and out, and for that reason alone is why he is and probably always will be the best lover of her life.

As she continued to ponder with her thoughts, the bathroom door opened and Ross re-entered the room. He stopped at the doorway when he saw her staring mindlessly at the ceiling and he chuckled, quietly making his way to the bed next to her. Seeing that she was still lost in thought, he chuckled under his breath before leaning down and kissing her deeply, immediately snapping her out of her reverie.

"Hmm, what?" she jumped until she saw his face hovering above hers, making a small smile appear on her face. "Oh, hi."

"Hi," he laughed softly, stroking her hair. "What were you thinking about?"

"Mmm, you know… about us… about you… about sex…"

"Well I sure hope all those things are connected."

Rachel smirked. "No, I was just thinking about sex with my _other_ lover and how awful the sex is with you," she answered sarcastically.

They both laughed softly and Ross pulled them up to the head of the bed, lying down with her on top of him. His arms wrapped around her waist and her fingers interlocked with his as they stared up at the ceiling together, enjoying the feeling of being in each other's arms.

"So tell me, what was your favourite thing we did today?" he asked, kissing her hair.

"Hmmm, that's a tough one…" she started, trailing off as she thought for a moment. "...Well I liked when you pinned me up against the door… and I _really_ liked the rough sex… but to be honest, I think I my favourite thing was that 'no-touching' sex we had. It was just so… intimate, you know?"

"I do, in fact I was just about to say that before you did." She looked up at him with a smile and he smiled back, kissing her softly on the lips. "Looks like we have the same taste in sex, huh?"

"Oh _honey_ , we've always had the same tastes," she coed, tracing his jaw-line with a delicate finger.

"I guess that makes us a perfect couple, doesn't it _darling_?" Ross played along, making her laugh softly.

Rachel pulled herself up a bit, touching noses with him as she stared into his eyes. "It does… it really does…"

For a second the whole world disappeared around them as she became lost in his attractive, chocolate swirls. There was just this feeling of a deep, unbreakable connection between them, almost like his brown eyes and her blue ones were meant to just look into each other and never look away. If that were the case, then she would be completely ok with it because she loved his eyes, and moments like these are moments when she wished she could just melt inside his gaze and never, ever leave.

She was once again brought back into reality by the smooth brushing of his lips against hers. She smiled softly and was about to let her lips part for his when she realised her heart was beating incredibly quick all of a sudden.

 _That's new_ , she thought but was interrupted with the gentle sucking of her bottom lip. She felt him tug on it lightly with his teeth and she closed her eyes, letting him playing with her lips as she was enjoying it just as much as he was.

Slowly his lips moved upwards, from her bottom lip to her top lip, then to her nose and then between her eyes. She felt herself gently being lowered back onto the bed and when the kissing finally stopped, she opened her eyes to see him lying next to her, locking eye-contact once more. Great kisser and smooth, two other things she can add to her list of things she loved about him.

"Are you staying here tonight?" he asked in a suggestive tone.

Rachel smiled. "Do you want me to leave?"

He nuzzled her nose playfully and pulled her closer to him, which she had no problem with. "No, I never want you to leave. But don't you have work tomorrow?"

"It's ok, I'll figure it out. I want to stay here with you tonight," she said, wrapping her arms around his torso and snuggling up to his chest. Ross smiled and kissed her forehead, squeezing her gently.

They remained in that position for a few moments, enjoying the feeling of the heat transferring from their bodies. It was during that time when Rachel's heart began beating again and while she wondered why it was beating so much lately, she also felt a completely new feeling wash over her. This feeling was like an urge, planting an idea into her mind and telling her that tonight, she wanted to be as close to him as possible, and truth be told, she knew deep down that that was exactly what she wanted.

"Let's get some sleep," she heard him say, followed by the feeling of his lips placing a tender kiss on her forehead. One of his arms unhooked from around her and he stretched to turn off the light behind him, but before he could she stopped him by grabbing onto his arm.

"Wait…"

"What's up?" he asked, looking down at her and seeing her peering up at him with large, longing eyes.

A small blush appeared on her cheeks. "Do you… do you want to leave it in me tonight?"

Ross' eyes widened slightly as he was completely taken aback by her request. This was one of the most intimate things they did back when they were dating. Back then, not only did they do it because they couldn't get enough of one another, but they also did it because they would feel connected with each other. It was one of the most private things they did together that no one knows about because it was special to them and them alone, so to hear her ask for him to put it inside her really caught him off guard.

"Um, are… are you sure?" he asked tentatively.

Not breaking eye-contact, Rachel simply bit her bottom lip and nodded her head slowly. Then without warning, she reached down and gently began stroking his bulge, making it just hard enough for her to insert it inside herself. A soft gasp escaped her lips and his breath got caught in his throat as she sunk down onto him, and they became one.

Silence followed her actions as they both just stayed in one position, not moving. This feeling, this feeling of being connected felt so familiar, yet so foreign. It had been years since they've had this feeling and it brought back memories - _good_ memories - of the past. It was different than entering during sex because for that, the motive was to please one another. The motive for this was to feel attached… to feel linked… to feel as though they were one being.

A breath escaped Rachel's lips that she didn't know she had been holding. Slowly, her eyes moved up to his and they locked eyes. She could see the look of uncertainty in his eyes, but she also caught a hint of longing and yearning, which was exactly how she was feeling at the moment. With a shy smile, she slowly lay back down on his chest, hugging him around his torso and a moment later, the light turned off and she felt his arms wrap around her once more.

"Goodnight Rach," he whispered, gently kissing the top of her head.

She smiled. "Goodnight."

Rachel snuggled closer to him and together, they dozed off into the night.

…

The next morning Ross woke up with a groan, lazily rubbing the sleep from his eyes and stretching out his arms. His eyes slowly flickered open and for a second, he almost forgot where he was but when his vision finally cleared it all came back to him and he looked down at the woman peacefully sleeping on his chest.

Rachel had remained in the snuggled up position during the night, and judging by the small smile on her face, it was probably a very comfortable position. Ross smiled as he watched her back rise up and down with every breath, and with a gentle finger, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing her calm, tranquil look.

He loved watching her sleep. To him, there was nothing better than to wake up and find Rachel silently dozing off next to him, or in this case, on top of him. She was just so beautiful in her sleeping form. Like an angel from the heavens, she practically glowed in the morning and it was hard to take his eyes off such a stunning sight. Sometimes he wondered how a person could look so beautiful without even being awake, but here she was – Rachel Green – living proof that maybe the impossible can be the possible. Her beauty was just indescribable, with her silky golden hair, her stunning looks, her beautiful bare body, her perfect curving hips, her slender, attractive legs…

All of a sudden Rachel's eyes shot open and she gasped, sitting up abruptly. A deep, involuntary moan escaped her lips and a shiver ran up her back, making her tremble and removing any hint of tiredness in her body. She felt an incredible feeling between her legs but before she wondered what the hell was happening she caught Ross' staring at her with a surprised look and just like that, everything came back to her.

With a slight blush, she looked down and sure enough, she saw that he was still inside of her. For a second there she had forgotten what had happened last night, but remembering the soothing, pulsing feeling she felt that helped her doze off during the night, she knew that this was the reason. And judging by the sudden pleasures she was experiencing, she could guess that this was the reason for that too.

Her eyes returned back to his and she smirked. "Looks like someone's excited already."

"I can't help it. I wake up to find a beautiful, naked woman lying on top of me. What do you expect me to do?" he answered smiling.

She laughed and gave him an affectionate smile. "Good morning."

"Good morning to you too. How'd you sleep?"

" _Amazing_ , you?"

" _Amazing_." They smiled at each other until Ross noticed her partially biting her bottom lip. "What?"

"Don't pretend like you don't know!" she exclaimed with a smile, slapping him on the chest. "I know you can feel that!"

"Feel what?" he asked, pretending to not know, although he had a general idea of what she was talking about.

"Oh, that's how it's going to be, huh? Then can you feel this?" She bit her lip harder and began rolling her hips into his, catching him by surprise as a loud gasp escaped his mouth.

"Ok, ok, I give up," he conceded, holding her hips still. She stuck out a tongue at him and he smiled. "So, now what?"

"Hmm, well let's see… you're clearly _very_ excited… you are already inside of me… and I'm a little horny too, so… hmmm…" Rachel tapped her chin, pretending to think before leaning down and whispering into his ear. "You tell me _what_ _now_."

Suddenly Ross grabbed her by the shoulders and flipped them over so he was now on top, looking down on her. She giggled and wrapped her legs around his waist.

"How was that?"

"Mmm, it was alright… you may need to continue to get my vote though…"

"Oh? Is that so?" he asked, nearing her mouth.

"Yup."

"Yeah?" He whispered against her lips.

"Yeah…" She trailed off as he kissed her deeply and leaving her breathless after the kiss.

"Pleh! Gross, morning breath!" Ross exclaimed, sticking out his tongue. She laughed and grabbed his neck, pulling him back down.

"Shut up and kiss me," she ordered.

"And what if I don't want to?"

"Well that's too bad, because the only way I'm leaving this bed for work is if you stop talking, start kissing, and hurry up and take me already!"

Ross laughed. "Well alright… if I have to…"

With that, he leaned down to connect with her mouth and moments later, the room was filled with the melodic sounds of giggling and moaning.

Truly a perfect start to the morning.

…

About an hour later Rachel exited the bathroom while putting in her earrings, now cleaned and dressed for work. Luckily she had learned from past experiences that it could never hurt to leave some clothes over at his place, and vice versa for him. Especially since it was them, you never know where their 'sex-capades' could take them so she always made sure she was prepared for anything.

As she stepped out of the bedroom she caught a whiff of something floating around in the air and following the scent into the kitchen, she found Ross busy frying some eggs, his back turned towards her. She smiled and quietly made her way over to him, hugging him from behind and resting her head against his back.

"Hello there," Ross greeted, rubbing her arms.

"Hello," she responded playfully. "What are you making? Eggs?"

"And some toast," he added. "I thought I'd make you some breakfast before you head off to work."

Rachel smiled. "Aww, that's sweet of you. Thank you."

Ross turned down the heat and spun around to look at her. They smiled at each other and he leaned down to give her a kiss, nuzzling her cheek afterwards.

"Mmm, you smell good," he mumbled, placing kisses all over her face.

"Stop that Ross," she giggled, pushing him away. "I can't afford to get all messy again."

"Why not? I think you look really pretty when you're messy."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "You might think that but I'm pretty sure my co-workers won't."

"Hmm, I don't know about that… I think that depends on how many of those co-workers are _guys_ …"

She laughed and was about to say something when the eggs starting to really sizzle on the pan. Ross quickly turned off the stove and dealt with the eggs as Rachel grabbed a mug and poured herself some coffee, taking a seat at the table.

A moment later Ross came over and served her breakfast, placing a plate of sizzling eggs in front of her along with a slice of toast to the side. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as a thank you before digging in, taking a bite of the eggs and letting the flavours sizzle in her mouth. He had always been a fantastic cook, although not everyone knew that since Monica was the cook of the group. Geller blood she supposed.

As she ate, Ross pulled up a chair across from her and just watched her eat. She took a bite of the toast and sipped her coffee when she noticed him staring at her. Her lips curled upwards slightly and she raised an eyebrow, amused.

"What?"

"You look beautiful today," he commented.

She couldn't help but blush. "Why thank you. I had a great night's sleep and an even better awakening." They both laughed softly as she took another bite of her eggs. "Are you not going to eat?"

He shook his head. "Nah, you go ahead. I don't have work for another few hours so I'm not in any hurry."

"What? You're not even going to try it? Here, have a bite." She poked at some eggs and held it up to his mouth, feeding him from across the table. He reluctantly began chewing a little but he quickly flinched and opened his mouth, breathing loudly.

"It's hot!" he exclaimed, blocking his mouth with his hand until he could swallow the food. She laughed and grabbed her plate, moving across the table so she could sit on his lap. He sweetly wrapped his arm around her waist as they ate her breakfast together.

"I thought you didn't want to make a mess," he joked as she fed him some toast.

"This is an exception," she responded before kissing him deeply.

Eventually she finished breakfast, with a little help of course, and they continued to kiss until she had to leave before she was late for work. Ross walked her to the front door and she turned around to give him a goodbye kiss.

"Miss me?"

"Always," he responded, kissing her forehead. He opened the door for her, earning a grateful smile before watching her leave.

Closing the door behind her, Ross let out a happy sigh. What an interesting group of events that have taken place over the past few hours, though he wasn't complaining about it. To be honest, it was times like these that he loved the most. Sure the flirting was addicting and the sex was mind-blowing, but it was the little interactions they had with each other that made this relationship so amazing.

Returning to the kitchen, he cleaned up the dishes and wiped the table, pouring himself the rest of the coffee in the pitcher and having a seat. He grabbed today's paper and scanned over the front page, but also made sure to glance at the clock to see when he had to go to work. He still had to shower and get dressed but seeing how early it was, he still had plenty of time before then so he sat back and turned open the newspaper.

Sometime later a knock was heard on his door and he put the newspaper down, drinking the rest of his coffee in his mug before slowly making his way back to the living room. The knocks came again, this time every one harder than the last and he groaned at the impatience of his visitor.

When he opened the door he found Joey standing outside with a worried look on his face.

"Oh, hey Joe. What are you doing here?"

"Ross, have you seen Rach anywhere? She didn't come home last night and I didn't see her this morning either," he panicked. Ross mentally punched himself; they had forgotten that she had a roommate.

"Sorry Joe, I haven't seen her but I'm sure she's fine. She probably just worked overnight and never got the chance to go home," he answered smoothly. His lying skills have really improved since they started sneaking around.

"You sure?" Joey asked, still not convinced.

"Positive." He was about to say something else when an idea popped into his mind. "Here, I tell you what; I'll go over and check on her before I head over to the university and I'll let you know if there's anything to be concerned about."

"Really? That'd be great Ross." Joey let out a deep sigh of relief, followed by a yawn. "Alright, well I'm going back to bed. I don't do early mornings…"

Ross chuckled. "See ya later Joe."

Joey left and he closed the door again, this time a little more enthusiastically. Joey provided him with a perfect excuse to go and surprise her later which meant he should probably get cleaned up soon. And though he saw her mere hours ago, he knew neither of them would be complaining about his surprise visit.

Whistling to himself, Ross headed for his bedroom, eager to see what surprises he could whip up for the two of them.

…

 **Author's Note: A little more of a sexual fluff chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed. That's pretty much it.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

It was a normal afternoon and the majority of the group, with the exception of Monica, was sitting around Central Perk, just chilling and hanging out. Joey and Phoebe were seated around the small table while Chandler took the arm chair. Ross and Rachel sat on the orange couch together, unbeknownst to the others, holding hands between them.

As the group continued with their small talk suddenly the front door rang open and their last member entered the coffee house. Monica spotted her friends sitting around couch and joined them.

"Hey Mon," the group chorused when they saw her.

"Hey guys," Monica greeted before going over to Chandler and sitting on his lap. "Hey honey."

"Hey baby." They kissed and Monica turned to take a sip of his coffee.

"So Mon, you excited? Your wedding is in just over a month," Phoebe pointed out.

Monica smiled and rubbed her fiancée's arm. "I sure am. I can't wait to marry you."

"Hey, woah, wait. Don't I get a say in this?" Chandler joked, earning a slap on the arm.

"Actually, speaking of our wedding, I was thinking," Monica said, turning to the group. "Since Chandler and I will be pretty busy come next month, with the wedding, and the honeymoon, and everything else…"

"Alright, we get it Mon. You're getting married," Ross rolled his eyes and Rachel snickered next to him.

She cleared her throat and blushed slightly from embarrassment. "Right, sorry. Well basically I was thinking that maybe we should all go out on a group vacation or something. London was fun when we went and so was Vegas, so why not make this an annual thing?"

"Well _some_ of us didn't get to go to London," Phoebe pouted. " _Some_ of us were busy nursing three babies inside of them."

"Ok, but you did kind of have some fun being pregnant and all, so technically we all did enjoy that period of time when we went to London," Monica countered.

Ross suddenly raised his hand. "I didn't have fun in London," he stated blankly, earning small chuckles around the group. Rachel rubbed his arm sympathetically.

"Look, guys you're missing the point. We're all going to be busy in the near future so why not take a short vacation together before then?" Monica asked.

"I don't know about you guys but I'm in," Joey said and she smiled at him.

"Awesome! See? Joey's into the idea!"

"Ooh, ooh, count me in too," Phoebe chimed in. "I'm done sitting out for our group trips."

"And of course I'm coming along," Chandler added, hugging Monica from behind. "I think this might be a perfect getaway for us before our wedding."

As the other's talked, Ross discreetly leaned over and whispered into Rachel's ear. "You know… this trip might be the perfect getaway for us too."

She smiled and squeezed his hand, turning to Monica. "Alright Mon, I'm in."

"Me too," Ross said, squeezing her back. "As long as you give me some days to tell work, I should be fine."

"Great!" Monica beamed. "So how about we leave in a few days? It will give us time to ask for time off work and for us to pack and stuff."

"You got an idea of where we're going?" Chandler asked.

"Well I was just about to get to that. Where do you guys want to go?"

"Let's go to the Bahamas!" Joey suggested.

"Um… I don't know if I can get _that_ many days off work…" Ross trailed off.

"Ross has a point. How about we say no airplanes?"

"Ooh, we should go to Canada!" Phoebe suddenly exclaimed.

"For vacation?" Rachel questioned.

"Yeah! It'll be fun!"

Chandler snorted. "Right… we can play in the snow all day and have dinner with the polar bears."

Monica rolled her eyes. "Ok, ok, all jokes aside, Canada isn't exactly what I'd consider a 'vacation' Pheebs. Any other ideas?"

For a moment, everyone thought by themselves about different places they could go before Rachel suddenly had an idea and broke the silence.

"Wait Pheebs, remember that beach house we went to years ago?" Rachel asked, remembering the time they all went there.

"Oh, yeah! Yeah, I remember that! That was when we borrowed my client's beach house and I found my birth mom!"

"Right, the place in Montauk!" Monica jumped in. "That's a perfect place for a mini-vacation! Pheebs, do you think you could call up your client and see if we can borrow it again?"

"Sure! I'm sure Bob won't have any problem with us using it for a couple of days."

"Oh, this is going to be so great! The warm beach, the cooling waves… I can feel the ocean breeze in my hair already!" Rachel said in a mesmerized tone. Ross smiled, rubbing her leg, and they smiled at each other.

"I'm going to dig so many holes!" Joey over-joyed and everyone rolled their eyes.

Suddenly Chandler remembered something. "Hey wait a minute, isn't that the place where you got stung by a jellyfish and I had to pee on your foot?"

"Chandler…" Monica started in a monotone voice. "I just want to remind you that we're getting married in a less than two months…"

"…Um, right, sorry. What jellyfish?" he quickly corrected himself and that was the end of that.

"Anyways… so we're all good? We'll meet back here in a few days and drive over to Montauk for the weekend."

"Sounds good," Rachel approved.

"Yup, works for me."

"Me too."

"Perfect!" Monica joyed. "Alright, well Chandler and I have to go do some last minute wedding preparations so we'll see you guys later."

"Oh, and I have to get home too. I have to feed my mice," Phoebe said, getting some strange looks in return. "What? I can't have pets."

Joey sat back with his arms behind his head. "Have fun with your things. I'm just going to sit here and relax for a bit."

Chandler gave him a look. "Joe, don't you have a filming session today?"

"I do?" He checked his watch, then immediately jumped out of his seat. "I do! And I'm half an hour late!"

Ross and Rachel laughed as they're friends hustled out of the coffee shop. As soon as they were gone, Ross turned to Rachel, rubbing her leg, and smiled.

"So, what do you want to do now?" he asked in a suggestive tone.

She gave him a knowing look. "What do _you_ think I want to do now?"

A smirk appeared on Ross' face and he quickly spun around towards the counter.

"Gunther! Bill!"

…

Just as planned, days later the group met up at the coffee house with their bags and luggage with them. As the group waited for Chandler to pull up with car they did a quick check over all their things.

"… Sunscreen: check… Towels: check… Umbrella: check…"

"Jeez Mon, you know we're only going there for a few days right?" Ross commented, eyeing her large suitcases.

"Yeah Mon, what are you doing? Moving there?" Rachel joked, earning some laughter from the group.

"Haha, laugh all you want now. But if any of you need sunscreen or a first aid kit, don't come running to me," she shot back.

"We're kidding Mon, we're glad you're the mom of the group," Phoebe said.

"Yeah, it makes it easier for the rest of us to pack," Joey added.

Monica eyed his luggage. "Speaking of which, Joey what did you bring?"

Joey smiled and turned around, picking up a large brown bag as well as a large, metallic shovel. "I'm bringing a bag of my underwear and my new shovel! You like it?"

Ross raised an eyebrow. "Um, yeah, for sure Joe. I hope you brought a hard hat for that construction site you're going to though." The girls burst out laughing but Joey didn't seem to be fazed.

"Laugh all you want. Don't come to me when you want a shovel," he countered, using Monica's comeback.

Monica shook her head, laughing. "Sorry Joe but that really doesn't work in this situation."

A few more minutes went by and Chandler still didn't show with the car.

"Where is this guy? See, I told you we should have just driven my taxi," Phoebe said with a little irritation.

"No way Pheebs, have you ever sat back there with four people? I feel like I'm become more claustrophobic every time I get in that car," Ross responded.

"Plus there's this weird smell in there too," Rachel added.

Phoebe shrugged. "Ok, fair enough. Grandma said she used to carry exotic foods in her cab but I never managed to find any of them."

"…And that is why we're renting the car," Monica said, holding back a gag.

All of a sudden a horn sounded and the group turned to see Chandler rounding the corner with their rented car. He pulled up to the curb and got out, twirling the keys on his finger while whistling.

"It's about time you got here."

"Hey!" he exclaimed, raising his hands. "Have you ever driven in New York? This place is a maze!"

Everyone rolled their eyes. "Just open the trunk Chandler," Monica said, bring her luggage with her.

As they piled their bags and suitcases into the back, Ross noticed Rachel struggling to carry hers off to the side. He put a hand on her shoulder and smiled.

"Need some help?" he asked, taking the suitcase from her hands.

"Thank you," she smiled, cautiously looking around before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. Ross gave her an amused look as he put her suitcase in the car.

"A little daring today I see."

She giggled. "You know what they say: big risk, big reward."

"I'll keep that in mind," he chuckled, giving her hand a squeeze before shutting the trunk.

Once their luggage was secure, the two of them crawled into the car, looking around for their seats. Monica and Chandler sat up front, with Chandler at the wheel. Joey and Phoebe also claimed their seats in the middle earlier, leaving the last two spots in the back for them. It was obviously the least favourable seats and Ross even had to lower the middle chairs just for them to squeeze by, but at least it was a little secluded from the others. He wondered if they could take advantage of that later…

Once everyone was settled down and buckled up, Chandler turned around from the driver's seat.

"Alright, everyone good?"

"Yup!" they all chorused.

Chandler turned the ignition on and the car's engine roared to life. The car pulled from the curb and soon, they were on the streets.

"Montauk, here we come!"

…

"…Ugh… Montauk, here we come…"

Joey slumped down in his seat while Phoebe played with her hands. The mood in the car seemed to take a turn for the worst as soon as they had hit the freeway. Traffic had hit them hard and what was supposed to be a simple four hour drive turned into a much longer and more tedious ride.

"Are we almost there yet?" Joey complained and Chandler groaned.

"Joey, please! You said that five minutes ago! I'm trying to focus on driving!" He shook his head. "Mon, do you think you can feed him a cookie or something?"

He didn't get a response so he quickly looked over at his fiancée to find her dozing away with a pair of earmuffs on her head. He groaned again, wishing he was smart enough to bring a pair of earmuffs, when suddenly the cars in front of him began to move faster.

"Hey! I think we made it out of the traffic!" he exclaimed cheerfully, finally being able to press down on the gas pedal.

"Really?" Phoebe asked as she and Joey peered ahead.

"Yeah! Six hours of traffic and we finally made it out!" Cheers erupted behind him and he laughed. "Don't get too excited. We still have a little more than half an hour left."

As the three people in the front settled back down Ross chuckled to himself. He had to give Chandler credit; a road trip with Joey and Phoebe took a lot of patience. He knew that if he was driving he long would have lost his patience with those two. Luckily for him he was in the very back so Joey and Phoebe's shenanigans didn't bother him much.

Still chuckling softly, Ross turned and looked beside him, only to find Rachel aimlessly staring out the window. He lightly tapped her on the shoulder, getting her attention.

"You hear? We're only half an hour away from your beach paradise."

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, that's pretty cool," she said half-heartedly.

He raised an eyebrow. "What? You don't want to go to the beach anymore?"

"No, I'm just so _bored_ ," Rachel exasperated, throwing her arms onto his shoulder. "Six hours of boredom and we're still not even there yet."

He laughed. "You're starting to sound more and more like these two up here," he said, pointing at Joey and Phoebe. Instead of laughing she simply groaned, turning back to the window.

Ross rolled his eyes and gently rubbed her thigh. He noticed her react to his touch and suddenly an idea popped into his head as a mischievous smile appeared on his face. With her still looking out the window he slowly moved his hand up her leggings, grazing her inner thigh and higher, until he reached an area that made her spin around with widened eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"You said you were bored so I thought I'd make things a little more interesting," he answered, teasing her through her leggings and making her eyes widen to saucer plates.

"Here? Now?" she questioned but he just nodded and smiled, focusing on his movements. He felt her hands grab his in an attempt to stop him but as he continued to rub her area, slowly her hands left his and she closed her eyes.

"Ross…" she mumbled quietly but didn't get an answer. Instead, he slipped his hand into her pants and she let out a gasp when she felt him touch her; skin on skin. "Oh my God…"

"Shhh," he whispered into her ear while his hand continued his magic down below.

Rachel leaned back and focused on her breathing, trying to not think about the amazing things she was feeling at the moment. She couldn't believe they were actually doing this with the others right in front of them, but Ross' hand was so good that half of her didn't want him to stop.

As time went on she felt her arousal increase and gently scratched at his arm, telling him she wanted more. He didn't disappoint, inserting a single finger inside her and at that moment all her thoughts were whisked away, replaced by the pleasure she was experiencing. She really tried to control her breathing but she couldn't help but let out deep breaths as his finger moved at a slow, torturous pace.

"Rachel, you ok back there?" Phoebe asked, hearing her heavy breathing. Luckily the seat blocked her view so she couldn't see what was happening underneath.

"Hmm?" Her eyes shot open and she gulped. "Y-yeah… I'm doing… fine… back here…"

Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

She gulped again, putting on a weak smile and grabbing onto Ross' hand in an effort to beg him to stop for a moment. Her motion failed, however, and his speed increased, forcing her to hold back a moan. "A-actually it's… a little… hot… back here. C-could you… open… a window?"

"Sure," Phoebe said, lowering her window before turning back towards the front.

Rachel sighed in relief, but that didn't last too long as she felt another wave of pleasure hit her full force. Her head shot back and she squeezed her eyes shut, struggling to contain the urge to let out a deep, throaty moan. It took all her might to open her eyes and look over at him, seeing his wicked grin on his face.

"Ross… Ross stop… please…" she pleaded quietly, breathing heavily. Ross leaned closer to her and blew into her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

"Make me," he whispered and she actually wanted to cry. She had this huge urge to just let out all the pleasurous sounds she could make, but at the same time she forced herself to keep it in. He was torturing her beyond belief and even worse, he was enjoying every moment of watching her fall apart in front of him.

Not wanting to seem like she was at his mercy, which she was, she tried to reach over and put her hand into his pants but he saw her coming a mile away. With his free hand, he grabbed onto her shaking arm and at the same time, he inserted a second finger inside of her.

Now she actually lost it. She held her breath and unconsciously arched her hips, giving him easier access to the inside of her pants. His fingers moved at a faster pace and her heart beat quicker and quicker, hoping this torture would finally end but also never wanting it to end.

Still struggling to hold it all in, she leaned over and bit into his shoulder as her hands meaninglessly ran across his body. Somehow her arms found their way around his neck and without another thought she immediately pulled him down, smashing her lips against his and screaming into his mouth.

She prayed that the muffling of their mouths and the whistling of the wind blowing through the window was enough to block out the sounds of her moaning. Luckily nobody turned their heads back but if she was going to be honest, she probably wouldn't have cared if someone did. At the moment, nothing in the world mattered to her. The only thing she could think of was how her tongue swirled around in his mouth with his while he pleasured her below in ways she could never explain.

Eventually it all became too much for her and she knew she was coming to an end. She felt herself tighten around his fingers as he thrust into her harder and faster, also sensing her finish. Moaning into his mouth, her body toyed with the idea of her climax for a little while longer until one final, throaty scream brought everything to an end.

Slowly he removed his fingers from her area and her lips left his. She leaned her forehead against his as she tried to catch her breath, feeling him brush his smiling lips across hers. Still with her eyes closed, she nuzzled him with her nose and held him close against her.

"We're here!" Chandler finally exclaimed, snapping her out of her post-climax daze. She immediately separated from him but while everyone gazed out the window at the beach house, she and Ross simply smiled at each other.

"So, how was that?" Ross asked as everyone else got out of the car. She simply smiled.

"Let's just say that _that_ was the perfect start to this vacation."

…

Later that night Ross was in his room, busy unpacking his clothes from his suitcase into the drawers provided to him. Since they had gotten to the beach house so late and everyone was exhausted from the long car ride, they had all decided to simply unpack and go to bed. After all, they would have plenty of time for some beach fun later.

Whistling to himself as he put away his things, his attention was brought to his door when three soft knock echoed in his room. Raising an eyebrow, he looked at the clock near his bedside and was immediately confused as to why anyone was knocking on his door at midnight.

As soon as he opened his door he found Rachel standing outside with a sly look but before he could say anything, she immediately pounced onto him. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her lips connected with his as he grabbed her legs to keep her from falling. Caught completely off guard, he backed them into his room and she shut the door behind them.

"Rachel? What are you doing?" he asked through her kisses, still trying to figure out what was happening.

"What does it look like?" she asked back, kissing him hard. "You think you can turn me on like that and not expect me to come back for more?"

Ross smiled but faked being uninterested. "More? I don't know Rach, I'm a little tired…" He let out a yawn, feigning exhaustion.

She frowned. "Ross, if we don't have sex right now then we are never having sex again."

"And all of a sudden I'm no longer feeling tired!" he quickly said.

Rachel smiled triumphantly. "Good. I would hate if you chose the wrong answer."

They both laughed before meeting in the middle with a blissful kiss. Ross slowly walked them over to his bed, throwing them both onto it as they let the night take them away.

…

 **Author's Note: By the way, this chapter is kind of inspired by MinaParole's** _ **Fix You**_ **. Someone mentioned that a previous chapter reminded them of her writing so I thought I'd address the comment. If you haven't already, be sure to go check out her stories because they're absolutely fantastic and are some of my favourite fanfictions.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Ross sighed as he stretched out on the smooth beach towel, shades on and under the shadow of an umbrella, there was nothing better than to relax in this amazing weather. The sun shone from above, kissing the warm beach sand, while the clouds swirled around like soft, paint strokes. A small ocean breeze came and gone with the sea as the waves ran along the beach, retreating back to the safety of the ocean and returning once more.

Propping his arms behind his head, he let out another sigh and let his mind completely drift off, letting the sounds and the smells engulf him into a mesmerising state.

Today was the third and last day of their stay at the beach house, and like everyone else, he was going to miss days like these. Days where he could sleep in, head to the beach, and return completely relaxed and worry-free were few back in New York, obviously, so he had made it his goal to cherish these past few days.

But what he enjoyed most was not the relaxation, nor was it the wonders of the ocean-side beach; it was the time he got to spend with his secret-lover, also known as Rachel Green. One would think that it would be the opposite; what with everyone else always a step away and living under the same roof, but it actually provided them more opportunities to do things together. They could sneak away with ease and along with their night time visits, they had plenty of alone time together, but even outside of the bedroom they did everything together. Walking, eating, showering… everything was done with each other, and he loved every moment of it.

It's those little moments that made their relationship flourish. It didn't have to be anything sexual, although most of the time it was, but even when they did something as simple as eating they could still find enjoyment just being together. Especially during these past few months, their connection has been so strong that it was almost as if they were something more. In fact, it's become so apparent that he's been wondering if maybe, just maybe, there really was something there that neither of them have come to admit.

As he continued to ponder with his thoughts, he suddenly felt sand hit him on the legs and he raised his eyebrow, taking off his sunglasses. Standing above him was a smiling Rachel, wearing a small red bikini bottom and a short white tank top as she held a volleyball under her arm. Without even thinking his eyes began to run up her body, starting from her long, slender legs up to her well defined curves and ending with her beautiful, glowing face. He couldn't help it really; not only was she cute but she was sexy too, and all he could think about was how lucky he really was.

"Get up you lazy bum," she smiled, kicking more sand onto his legs.

Ross grinned and put his sunglasses back on. "Nah, I'm ok. I like it down here."

"No! Come on!" she exclaimed, giggling. "We're going to play a volleyball game and we need you to even out the teams."

"Are you sure it's all of you who need me and not _you_ who needs me?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows.

"Shut up," she responded, failing at hiding her smile. "But seriously, come on. The others are waiting for us to start."

Ross sat up and took off his shades, looking in the direction of the others and raising an eyebrow. In the distance he could see the rest of the gang gathered around what appeared to bea dozen holes in the ground and watching as Joey continued to dig in one of his holes using his shovel.

"Are you sure about that? Looks to me like they're looking for buried treasure."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Joey's just showing them all the holes he's dug. They'll join once we go over."

"Well in that case, I'll let Joe finish his tours of his holes while I relax here," he said, lying back down.

"Ross!" she whined, putting on her pouty face. "Get up! Please?"

Ross chuckled and gave in. "Alright, but only because you asked so nicely." She rolled her eyes. "Can you give me a hand?"

He extended his hand and she took it, but as soon as she did he immediately pulled her down. With a yelp she fell and landed on top of him, and with a quick motion, Ross flipped them around and planted a soft kiss on her lips.

"See? Isn't the ground great?" he joked.

"Ross! The others might see!" she exclaimed, though she was smiling as well.

"Oh, alright. You're no fun," he said. She laughed as he got off her and helped her to her feet. Still holding her by the hips, he gently traced the edge of her bikini bottom and he leaned into whisper into her ear. "Have I ever told you how sexy you look in this outfit?"

Shivers went down her spine and Rachel grinned, pushing him back lightly. "Shh! We'll have time for that later. I promise."

"I'll hold you to that," he said and she gave him a little wink before leading him over to the others.

"Ok guys, I finally got Ross to join so let's play!" Rachel announced when they reached the others.

"What? But I wasn't finished showing off all my holes yet!" Joey complained.

Chandler rolled his eyes. "Joe, every single hole looks the same. What more is there to show us?"

"But I named them and everything! Here's Joey Jr. and here's Little Joey… oh, and here's Big Joe…"

"Ok, enough about holes," Monica cut in. "Let's play some volleyball! You are so going down!" she said, pointing at Ross.

"We'll see about that," he countered. "Ok, so what are the teams?"

"We haven't made them, but ooh! Why don't we have Monica and Ross be team captains?" Phoebe suggested.

"Great. Another Thanksgiving football game…" Chandler groaned.

"It won't!" Monica objected. "We can be civilized captains. Right Ross?"

Ross shrugged. "Sure, but I mean my team is already going to win so…"

Monica punched him in the arm. "In your dreams you win. You know what? I'll even give you first pick and I'll _still_ beat you!"

"Yeah? And what happens if I beat you?"

"Oh! Losing team has to dig holes with me!" Joey suggested.

"No!" They all chorused and he frowned.

"What about losers have to do a lap around the beach?" Chandler proposed.

"No that's stupid," Monica shot down almost immediately and Chandler frowned as well.

"And here it goes…" he mumbled to himself.

"Losers have to…" Monica looked around the beach for anything until her eyes landed on a cliff side over-looking the ocean in the distance and an idea popped into her mind. "Losing team has to be pushed off that cliff!"

"That cliff?" Ross asked, pointing at it.

"Yup, unless you're too scared."

"Nope, the cliff works for me," he smiled, unfazed while Monica stuck out a tongue.

"Ok, let's make our picks."

Ross and Monica stood off to the side as the four others lined up shoulder-to-shoulder in front of them. Ross stepped up first and began looking over everyone as he decided on who to pick, but as he did he noticed Rachel wave at him off to the side and seeing her eager look, he knew who he was picking.

"Ok, my first pick is Rachel!" he announced and she squealed, running over to stand next to him.

"I was first pick! I was first pick!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down as Ross laughed.

"Rachel?! You picked Rachel first?! Hah! You're totally going to lose!" Monica mocked.

"Nope, Rachel here's my secret weapon," Ross defended her, taking her hand in his. "Remember what happened at the end of the Thanksgiving game?"

"That was a total fluke, but if you want to pick her then go ahead." Monica turned to the rest of the group. "I'm going to pick Joey."

"Yes!" he said, jogging over to her.

Ross looked at Phoebe and Chandler, trying to decide who to pick. Phoebe had a height advantage, but she also didn't know how to play. Chandler isn't the best at sports, but he has played volleyball before. He couldn't quite decide who he wanted on his team when he felt Rachel tug on his shirt.

"Pick Pheebs," she whispered.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yeah, I feel like she'll be good at volleyball."

Ross nodded and turned to everyone else. "Alright, I'm going to pick Phoebe."

"Oh yay! I'm not last pick!" she joyed, skipping over to join them.

"Oh yay! I'm last pick!" Chandler said sarcastically, walking over to his team with a slump.

"Correction, you're last pick for the winning team!" Monica corrected and he rolled his eyes.

When the teams were picked and the rules were explained, the group headed over to the beach court where a net had been set-up earlier in the day. Ross, Rachel, and Phoebe took position at one side while Monica marched her team down to the other side.

"Alright guys, just remember to work together and communicate, and we'll win," Ross encouraged, giving Rachel and Phoebe high-fives.

"Hey! Are we chit-chatting or are we playing some volleyball?" Monica yelled from the opposite end, bouncing the ball in her hand. "Chandler, Joey, just do what I say and this game will be a breeze."

"I didn't know we were playing with a dictator," Chandler joked, getting into position as Monica prepared to serve the ball.

Practicing her serves once, then twice, Monica winded up and hit the ball with a thwack, sending it flying over the net straight towards Ross.

"Mine!" he called out, bumping it up with ease.

"Oh! I got it!" Phoebe yelled, running over and volleying it up to give Ross an easy spike. Seeing the opening Ross jumped up and hit the ball, and as soon as his hand made contact, the ball went shooting down right in front of Joey, who fell flat on his face at an attempt to dive for it.

"Yes! We got a point!" Rachel cheered, giving Phoebe and Ross a hug.

"Great set Pheebs," Ross complimented and she smiled.

"Lucky shot!" they heard Monica yell and they turned to her. "1-0, game's far from over! First to 21 wins!" She threw the ball over and Ross caught it, going back to serve.

A moment later Ross hit the ball and it went over the net, falling right into Monica's path.

"Mine!" she yelled, volleying it up.

Chandler got under it and hit it over to Joey.

"Over!" Monica screamed, making him flinch slightly, before hitting it over the net.

The ball went soaring over and looked to aim at the far corner. Ross rushed to get it and with a desperation dive, he just managed to hit it up right before it touched the ground. Spinning, the ball went up in the air and came down, right on top of Rachel.

"It's mine! It's mine!" Rachel exclaimed excitedly, raising her hands to volley it over, but when the ball neared it ended up going straight through her hands and hitting her flat on the nose, making her topple over.

"Hah! Rookie mistake! 1-1!" Monica announced as Ross and Phoebe rushed over to help her up.

"Rach you ok?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she said, holding her nose.

"Rach, you missed the ball," Phoebe pointed out.

"I know! How did that happen? I thought I had it."

"I didn't get a good view but your hands might have been too far apart. Try putting them closer together and using your fingers, like this," Ross explained, taking her hands in his and showing her how they should be positioned. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Ok, got it."

"Good." They smiled at each other before returning to their positions.

As the game went on, the scores remained pretty even, with both teams putting up points one after the other. It started to become a lot more competitive, especially as their scores neared 21, but neither team could get ahead of the other without the other one tying it up soon afterwards. It became a very close knit score and everyone was having fun competing, though some more than others.

As expected, Rachel has had a quiet game, missing a few hits while not getting the ball as much, though she supposed it made sense since her teammates were much taller than she was. She still enjoyed herself nonetheless and celebrated when her team scored a point, but what she had particularly noticed was how kind Ross had been towards her. Knowing his competitive nature, she was surprised he hadn't yelled at her for hitting the ball out-of-bound for the hundredth time. Instead, he had helped her up every time and given her words of encouragement, smiling and telling her she'd get it next time. She didn't understand what had gotten into him but she had to admit, she loved this side of him.

Eventually the ball hit the sand on their side, giving team Monica a point and sending them to the dreaded 20-20 score. Rachel jogged over to fetch the ball, tossing it over for Monica to serve and joining her team in a quick huddle.

"Alright guys, its 20-20; last point wins. We've played great so far and if we keep it up, I know we can win," Ross said, turning to Phoebe. "Pheebs, you've been doing amazing. When you see them trying to spike the ball jump up and try to block the ball or at least make them volley it over instead."

"Ok!" she said, pumped up.

"What about me?" Rachel asked, getting Ross' attention.

He smiled. "Rachel sweetie, just keep doing what you're doing. You're doing everything right, you just need more chances and they'll come. Remember, you're our secret weapon and now is the time for us to use you."

She nodded and smiled, giving him a quick look of appreciation before putting her hand in the middle, along with him and Phoebe.

"Go team!" the three of them cheered before breaking and returning to their spots on the court.

"20-20, you sure you don't want to quit now and save the humiliation?" Monica mocked.

Ross rolled his eyes. "Just serve the ball."

With a loud thwack, the ball came spinning over at a fast speed. Phoebe managed to get it, volleying it up to Ross who decided they weren't in good position so he sent it back over the net. The ball came down near Chandler who bumped it up and gave a nice set for Joey.

"It's mine!" Monica yelled, jumping in front of the ball before Joey could and spiking it over. Ross dove and clipped the ball once again, sending it over to Rachel who bumped it to Phoebe, and the ball got sent over once more.

"I got it," Joey said, walking backwards and redirecting the ball to Chandler.

"All yours Joe," he quipped, setting him up again but lo and behold, Monica came rushing over to spike it herself.

"No it's mine!"

Monica hit the ball hard but Phoebe jumped at the perfect time, blocking it and redirecting it back at them.

"Chandler get it!" Monica screamed, pushing him forward. He dove, mostly due to the push, and managed to get the ball over to Joey. He too had to dive for it, getting it right before it hit the ground and sending it to Monica.

As the ball was in the air, Monica raised her fist as if she was going to spike it and Ross and Phoebe automatically drifted to the left to anticipate the hit, but seeing them do so she immediately brought up her other hand and volleyed it to the complete other side, leaving Ross and Phoebe flat-footed and sending the ball straight towards Rachel.

"Rach! It's yours!" Ross yelled, seeing her prepare for the ball to come.

"I-I got it!" she shouted, a little panicked. Feeling her hands shake, she closed her eyes right before the ball came and with all her might, volleyed it back over.

To everyone's surprise, the ball went soaring over the net, aimed right for the back corner, and with Chandler and Joey still on the ground and Monica way up front, she had to desperately scramble back to try and get to it, but it was too late. She watched as the ball hit the ground right in-bounds, bouncing away and landing a foot away.

"NO!" Monica yelled, falling to her knees in defeat.

"I… I did it… I did it! I scored!" Rachel exclaimed, shocked yet exhilarated. Ross and Phoebe came rushing over and in one swoop; she was lifted up in the air by Ross who spun her around.

"Rach you did it! We won! You did it!" he exclaimed as she squealed. He set her down and brought her in a tight hug, which she gladly hugged back.

"That was incredible Rach!" Phoebe said, joining in on the group hug.

"See, I told you that you could do it," Ross smiled, giving her a kiss on the forehead. She beamed, kind of wishing he could kiss her on the lips instead, but regardless, it felt amazing to finally score a point and win the game.

As they celebrated, Chandler and Joey came over to congratulate them, with Monica trailing behind. She half-heartedly shook their hands, looking away when she shook Ross', and silently began to walk away.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Ross asked, spotting her and stopping her in her tracks. "I believe we had a deal for the losing team, and wait… oh that's right, that's you!"

"Haha, laugh all you want. You got lucky," she shot back, looking down at the ground.

"It wasn't luck, it was knowing who to pick," he said just as Rachel walked over. He slung his arm around her shoulder and looked down, giving her a smile.

"Who's a bad first pick now? Huh, Mon?" Rachel asked, taking a few shots of her own.

"Ok, ok, I take it back. You were a great first pick," she conceded. "Now can we get this punishment over with?"

"Glady," Ross smiled, leading the way with Rachel still under his arm.

A minute later the group reached the top of the cliff side and Monica, Chandler, and Joey lined up on the edge, looking down at the drop. It wasn't a far drop, but at the same time, it wasn't one they were looking forward to either.

"Alright guys, chose who you want to push off," Ross said, letting the girls have their picks first. Rachel immediately went over to Monica, who looked incredibly embarrassed by the whole situation, while Phoebe walked over to stand in front of Joey. "Cool, that leaves me with Chandler."

"Don't push too hard, I'm fragile," Chandler said as he stood in front of him.

Ross laughed. "I think that's the least of your worries. I'm pretty sure if you belly flop from this height, you'll die."

"Gee, thanks. That's exactly what I want to hear right now," he said sarcastically.

Ross laughed again before turning to the others. "Alright you guys ready?"

"Ready!" Rachel and Phoebe chorused while the other three mumbled a disheartening 'ready'.

"Ok!" With that, Ross pushed Chandler straight off the cliff. He yelped, yelling as he fell all the way down and landing with a big splash while everyone looked on.

"Ok! Me next!" Phoebe exclaimed.

"Wait! Pheebs! I have, uh… I have a bad back, and my doctor said I can't swim otherwise it'll get worse," Joey quickly said.

She snorted. "Yeah right, you were swimming an hour ago."

"Right… um, I meant I can't fall from tall heights into water…"

Phoebe rolled her eyes and without warning, pushed Joey off as well. "Bye Joe!" she waved as he plummeted into the water, creating an even bigger splash than Chandler.

"Ok Mon, you're next," Rachel said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Um, Rach, on second thought how about I do your laundry for a week?" Monica offered, wearily looking down at the drop behind her.

"Hmm, maybe…"

"Really?" she perked.

Rachel smiled. "Nope." With two hands, she shoved Monica off, hearing her shriek all the way down. Rachel leaned over the cliff and watched her land with a loud splash, laughing at her flustered expression when she re-surfaced.

"That was fun!" she laughed as Ross walked over.

"It sure was…" He pretended to look over the cliff with her, but suddenly grabbed her arm. "…but it'll be more fun if you join them!"

Rachel yelped, feeling herself lose balance. "Ross!" she screamed, frantically trying to grab onto something and finding his arm, catching him completely off guard and pulling him down with her. Yelling as they fell, she wrapped her arms around his body tight, right before they hit the water with the biggest splash of the group.

When they resurfaced, Ross began to laugh while Rachel wore an irritated, but still slightly laughing look on her face.

"What was that for?" she asked, pretending to be angry.

"Oh come on, you can't even lie. _That_ was fun."

She shook her head, laughing, and pulled at her drenched white shirt. "Look at what you did."

Ross looked her up and down, particularly her now see-through white shirt revealing the other half of her small bikini, and smiled. "You know, I think you look even better than before."

Rachel stuck out her tongue and turned away. "Yeah? Well then maybe I won't keep that promise of mine."

"You wouldn't."

She turned back to him, hiding a smile. "You want to bet?"

Their conversation came to an end when Phoebe's hollering caught everyone's attention from atop the cliff side.

"Phoebe jump!" Joey yelled, encouraging her to jump.

"Ok here I come! Cannonball!" she shouted as she jumped off, landing in the middle of everyone and splashing them all. When she came up everyone laughed and swam over.

"That was awesome!" Phoebe exclaimed.

"It actually kind of was. In fact, I bet I can make a bigger splash than any of you!" Monica challenged, and before anyone could answer she began swimming towards the shore as fast as she could, with everyone else laughing behind.

…

"Damn, you got me."

Ross tossed the wads of paper bills onto the table, standing up to show he was done. "I'm bankrupt. I knew I should have traded for Boardwalk…"

"Haha! Sucker! You might have won volleyball but I am the _Queen_ of Monopoly!" Monica declared, gathering her earnings.

"Dude, control your woman," Joey whispered to Chandler quietly, carefully eyeing Monica.

"When she's like this? No way. It'd be easier to tame an angry bull," he responded, motioning to his fiancée who was busy counting her brother's dollars.

"One of Ross' dollars… two of Ross' dollars… three of Ross' dollars…"

Ross rolled his eyes and tucked in his chair. "Alright, well I think I'm done for the night."

"What? Where you going? We can still play another round after this," Rachel said, confused as to why he wanted to leave all of a sudden.

"Yeah, we're going to play some strip poker afterwards too," Joey added.

"No we aren't!" everyone yelled at once and he sunk down in his chair with a huff.

Ross chuckled lightly. "Nah, I'm ok. I'll just be outside getting some fresh air."

Rachel looked at him, trying to read his facial expression but it was too hard to tell. "Ok… well if you have to…"

"Rachel! It's your roll!" Monica cut in, handing her the dice. She silently took them and rolled, moving her pieces accordingly while she carefully watched as Ross left out the back door.

…

Later Rachel walked outside and found Ross on the patio, leaning against the railing while staring out towards the beach. Quietly she snuck up behind him and gently wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head against his back. He flinched as soon as he felt her touch but realising that it was her, he didn't bother turning around, instead staying in their position.

"Hey," she eventually said, nudging his back with her cheek.

"Hey," he responded, rubbing her arms. "Come here."

He opened his right arm and Rachel walked into it, feeling him hug her from behind and bring her to stand in front of him. He soothingly rubbed her waist and she leaned back in his arms, closing her eyes and enjoying the feeling of him all around her.

"What's wrong?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"Hmm? Nothing's wrong," he answered, but she didn't believe him.

"Come on Ross, you can tell me. Why'd you leave the game so early?"

"I'm telling you Rach, there's nothing wrong," he assured. "I've just had some stuff on my mind lately so I decided some fresh air might help."

She decided not to push it any further and just let the topic drop, though she wondered what had been on his mind. She heard a sigh behind her and felt him snuggle her closer towards him, hugging her tight, almost like a teddy bear.

"This trip has been great, hasn't it?"

"It sure has," she smiled, remembering all the events from these past few days. "Lots of swimming, lots of eating…"

"Not enough sleeping…" Ross added, making her laugh softly.

"Are you saying you didn't like our nightly escapades?" she teased, turning in his arms.

He smiled and brushed his lips against hers. "Of course not. That's been the best part of this whole trip."

"The _best_ part?"

"Yup, well aside from the time I've spent with this other girl. You might not like her though. I think she might have a crush on me," he joked.

She gave him an amusing look. "Yeah? Well then tell me about my competition."

"Sure, well she's hot. She's really, really, hot."

Rachel slapped his arm playfully. "Is that all you think of me as? _Hot_?"

Ross seemed taken aback. "What? No, I was talking about that _other_ girl." She rolled his eyes. "You? You are just amazing, and beautiful, and amazing beautiful…" He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and she giggled, blushing slightly.

"Are those the only adjectives you know?"

"Right, how could I forget. You're really hot too."

She laughed and nudged him playfully. Ross smiled and gently lifted her chin so he could look into her beautiful blue eyes, wondering if she could read his deepest thoughts. "But seriously Rachel, I can't even begin to describe how incredible you are. The things you do, the things you say, your looks, inside and out. You're just… you're so…"

Smiling and feeling tears threaten her eyes, Rachel surprised him by putting a hand up to his lips to quiet him. "Shh, I get it. Thank you," she smiled, feeling her heart pound against her chest from his words.

"But I didn't finish," he smiled.

"You don't have to." She stared into his eyes and slowly, leaned up and kissed him passionately on the lips. When they broke, they both seemed to blush a little as she turned back around to stare at the empty beach.

"You want to go for a walk?" she suggested suddenly.

He paused, then nodded. "Sure," he smiled, taking her hand and leading her down the stairs towards the beach.

A minute later they were walking along the empty shore, hand-in-hand as they stared out at the tranquil ocean. The night sky was clear and the moon's reflection glimmered along the surface of the water, setting a quiet, yet majestic view of the night seas. They stopped and took a moment to just stare out at the never ending ocean-line and just let nature take them away.

"It's really beautiful," Ross said, breaking the silence.

She looked up at him and smiled, turning back to the ocean. "It really is." She let out a sigh, interlacing her fingers with his and leaning her head against his shoulder.

"You know, its moments like these that make me never want to leave this place."

"Yeah… me too…"

He turned to her. "So let's stay."

"What?" she laughed, not sure if he was being serious.

"Let's stay," he repeated. "Come on, it would be great. We'd have no worries or responsibilities at all. We could come to the beach anytime we want and have as much sex as we want."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Right, and what about our jobs and our families? What would we even eat way out here anyways?"

"I guess you have a point." Ross sighed and stared back out at the ocean, clearly deep in thought. She wondered what he was thinking about and gave his hand a squeeze to remind him she was still there.

"Want to go for a swim?" he suddenly asked.

"What? You can't be serious," she said, but seeing his look she knew he was. "You already got me wet once today, you want to get me wet again?"

"Well, I certainly wouldn't mind seeing you wet again…" he trailed off, earning a slap on the arm.

"I don't even have my bathing suit on me."

"Me neither, but that's not the kind of swim I was thinking about." Ross let go of her hand and walked over to a nearby rock, taking off his shirt and starting to undo his belt. Rachel stared at him, mesmerised by the moonlight shining on his muscular body. Only the calling of her name snapped her out of her trance and without a second thought she walked over, pulling her own top off as well.

A moment later they both stood naked on the beach. She felt him look her up and down, making her blush a deep shade of red before he took her hand and they ran into the water together. Once the shallow water began to end, they both dove in head first, swimming a little further into the ocean.

When Rachel came up for air it took her a moment to realise that she couldn't see Ross anywhere and she began to panic a little. That's when she felt two strong hands grip her hips and all of a sudden, Ross came up behind her, pulling her against him. She laughed and spun around to face him, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck and her legs around his waist.

Without sharing a word, the two of them stayed floating in the water. No kissing, no sex, just staring into each other's eyes and enjoying this moment together. And with the moon shining a top and the open night sky above them, there was nowhere else either of them wanted to be expect here; in each other's arm, together.

…

 **Author's Note: And that concludes the fluff section of this story. I hope you guys aren't too disappointed but hey, we're moving on to bigger and better things. I did enjoy writing the fluff though, and who knows? Maybe the next story will have some fluff chapters too.**

 **Either way, we'll be moving on with the next chapter so be sure to leave a review and let me know what you think so far. Apart from that, I'll see you next time.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Rachel stared up at her ceiling in the pitch black darkness of her room, sitting up against the headboard as her eyes aimlessly looked upwards. This wasn't the first time she found herself in this position, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

It's been a couple days since they returned back from their beach vacation and since then, Rachel's mind has been flooded with thoughts that she couldn't quite make out, or rather, chose not to make out. Her thoughts have been so conflicted that as of late she's spent a significant amount of time just thinking on her own, as she was at this moment, and no matter how long she's pondered her issues, she just couldn't find a way out of it.

What exactly has been the cause of her conflicting thoughts? Well, the answer is both simple and complicated, never in between, however there was one thing that remained the same and she knew that everything always came back to him.

Ross.

Ross Geller has been on her mind all week, and no matter what she did, she could never get him out of her head. Everything she did, every word, every action, every thought, somehow could be related back to him. She could even be at work, in a meeting talking about this summer's fashion trends, and then all of a sudden she'd be re-living a memory of them lying on the beach, her in his arms as they watched the sun set in the horizon.

Then there were times where it wouldn't be a memory, but a certain feature that she loved about him. His gorgeous brown eyes when he stared deep into her soul... His cute smile that can light up even her darkest of days… His muscular body that she could stare at, or feel, all day long…

But the things she loved about him extended even beyond just physical features. She could find herself thinking about the way he holds her in his arms, or the way he cheers her up when she's down. The look he gives her when he tells her something's going to be ok, or the urgency to help her with whatever she needed, even when she didn't ask for help in the first place.

How much he cares for her and the affection he shows her just melts her heart and makes her want to be around him all the time, but at the same time, it's also what makes her want to avoid him until she could figure things out.

If she was to be truthful, the biggest thing that has been on her mind hasn't been the thoughts or the memories, but it was her feelings. Recently she's been having these feelings, old feelings and new feelings. Feelings that left her stomach filled with butterflies and her mind spinning in thoughts and daydreams. Feelings that she couldn't quite understand, or rather didn't want to understand, because of the fear of what may happen next.

She knew what was happening to her.

She was falling in love.

And that's what scared her the most because she was not ready for these feelings to come back so soon, though if she was to be truthful again, it shouldn't have come as a surprise. These feelings have been building in her chest for quite some time now and while she has always put it off and kept it inside, she knew that it'd inevitably come back to bite her.

And now it was back, stronger than ever before. She was falling hard for him, falling fast. It became to the point where just seeing him would make her heart pound against her chest. She had fallen in love with Ross plenty of times in the past, but never had it been like this. This time around it was almost as if she could picture a life with him already, imagining them going on dates and kissing under the stars. Waking up to each other's smiles and falling asleep knowing they'd be together in the morning.

It all sounded so nice and she knew that deep down, it was something she's always wanted, but was she ready for it? Were _they_ ready for it? They had agreed to keep this relationship as platonic as possible, but she knew that it had become far more than just that. Especially in these last few months, they way they acted around each other was almost as if they were a couple, but they just didn't know it.

Well now she knew it, and now it was too late to go back. She was deeply in love with him and she wasn't sure how long she could keep that in for, but does he feel the same way? Would he react horribly if she told him how she felt?

But what she was scared of the most was not how he would react, nor had it anything to do with him directly, but it had to do with her and her trust.

She still remembered how hurt she had been when she had found out he had cheated on her on their anniversary. It was as if someone had ripped her heart in two, and pain like that never goes away. Even after all these years, she still wasn't sure if she could trust him completely and that was her biggest fear when dealing with these feelings of her.

It was this very reason that has kept them apart for so long. Love had never been an issue. It had always been there, whether they admitted it or not, and probably will always be there. Love has never been their problem, trust was.

This was her conflict and what has kept her up sometimes during nights. Could she trust him enough so their relationship could actually work? Was she willing to risk another heartbreaking for the love of her life? Could she bring herself to give him another chance, or was another chance too many?

She just couldn't make a decision, and with her heart and mind at odds, she wasn't sure if she _could_ make a decision. On one end, her heart was telling her that love was all she needed and that if she truly did love him then she'd be willing to let go of the past. But on the other end, her mind was telling her that the past should not be forgotten and that the consequences of trusting him again could end with her being hurt even more than before.

Rachel sighed and rubbed her temple. Why must things be so complicated? Why couldn't things ever be simple between them? She had never felt more lost than she was now, and even after an entire week of thinking, she still couldn't come up with a decision. It was just too hard for her to do this on her own.

She needed to talk to someone.

Her eyes immediately shot open and stared towards the door. Yes, that's what she needed to do. She needed to get an outside opinion, someone who could help her make the right decision, and she knew just the person to talk to.

Rachel swung her legs over the edge of the bed and slowly headed for the door, exiting her dark room for what seemed like the first time in hours. The apartment was quiet and Joey didn't seem to be around at the moment, which was fine since he wasn't the one she was going to talk to. Instead, she continued forward and headed for the front door, exiting into the hallway and immediately walking over to the door on the other side.

"Who's there?" she heard someone yell as she closed the door behind her.

"It's just me Mon," she yelled back.

"Oh, ok. I'll be out in a bit."

Rachel looked around the room and sighed, heading over to the freezer and pulling out a tub of ice cream. She also got herself a small spoon and with a sad slump, she sat down at the table, slowly eating her ice cream as she waited for Monica to come out.

A moment later Monica's bedroom door opened and she walked out, spotting Rachel sitting alone in the kitchen. Dressed in her chef uniform, Monica checked the time on her watch before walking over to join her friend.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked, startling Rachel a bit.

"Hmm? Oh sorry, I just wanted to talk to you about something."

Monica raised an eyebrow. "Well it certainly seems important. The only time you ever eat the good ice cream with a small spoon is when you're really upset."

"That's because I am," she answered, staring at her spoon as she used it to stir the top of the ice cream.

"I can tell." Monica checked her watch and turned back to her. "Ok, well this isn't really the best time to talk right now since I have to go to work in a few minutes, but why don't you give me a quick rundown. What's bothering you?"

Rachel sighed. "It's… complicated…"

"Does this have something to do with that guy you're sleeping with?"

Rachel's head shot up. "What? How did you know?"

"Because what else would be so complicated that you'd need my help?"

She looked down. "Ok, you have a point."

"So what happened? Did something happen between you two?" Monica asked, a little worried.

"No, no, we're doing fine. It's uh... the opposite actually."

Monica raised an eyebrow. "So _nothing_ happened between you two?"

"No, something did. I mean something is. I-… ugh, this is so hard to explain because you don't know who it is," she said, frustrated.

"So why don't you tell me?"

"I don't think I'm ready for that yet," she answered quietly.

Monica scratched her head. "Um, ok, well so far we've established that nothing's happening between you two, but something is. Rachel, why don't you tell me what's really bothering you?"

She sighed and stared at the ground. "I think… I think I'm falling in love with him."

"Woah, that's… that's big," Monica said, a little caught off guard.

"Well actually, I don't _think_ I'm falling in love with him. I _know_ I'm falling in love with him."

"Um, well that's good right? At least you know what you want right?"

"No! I don't, and that's what I can't make a decision on!" she exclaimed, frustrated and upset. "I know I'm in love with him, but I don't know if I want to be or not. I don't know if I can trust him yet or if what happened in the past might come up again…"

"The past?"

Rachel shook her head and buried her face in her hands. "It's complicated…"

"Right, you've said that already." Monica checked her watch and looked back sympathetically at her conflicted friend. "Listen Rachel, I need to go to work. Do you think we can continue this once I get back?"

"You're leaving now?" she asked, sadness plastered all over her face.

"Yeah, I'm sorry honey. I promise, we'll resume this talk as soon as I get back."

Rachel watched as Monica hurried to grab her purse and keys. As she did, she thought about the situation and she knew she didn't want to leave here without a decision. If only she could be more open… unless…

"It's an ex-boyfriend."

Monica stopped in her tracks and turned around. "What?"

"The guy I'm seeing… he's an ex-boyfriend," she repeated.

"As in you dated before and broke up?" Monica clarified and she nodded.

"It was a long time ago but I still remember it clearly."

"Hold on," Monica said, raising a hand to stop her from continuing. "Tell me this; how did you two break up?"

Rachel looked at the ground, feeling all the memories of that night come back all at once. She slowly looked back up, holding back tears as she looked Monica in the eyes.

"He cheated on me."

"What? Oh no, Rach, you can't let yourself fall for someone like that."

Rachel felt a wave of sadness fall over her. "What do you mean?" she asked, trying to get some clarification.

"Well who is it? Paulo? Chip? Barry?"

"I don't want to say…" she trailed off.

Monica quickly glanced at her watched and sighed. "Look Rach, I don't want to make your decision for you but I don't think it's a good idea to get involved with this guy you're seeing. Anybody who had the decency to cheat on you before wouldn't hesitate to do it again."

"Yeah… that's what I was thinking too…"

Rachel looked down sadly, knowing that she just made her decision. Nothing could ever happen with her and Ross, no matter how much she loved him. And though she knew that it probably was the right choice, at the moment she felt like she had just lost a piece of her that she's been holding onto for a long time.

"You going to be ok?" Monica asked, seeing the sudden change in her emotion.

"Yeah, I… I just need some time," she said quietly.

Monica checked her watch. "Alright, well I need to get going. If you still want to talk after then we can talk once I get off."

As Monica gathered her things suddenly the front door opened and both the first, and last person she wanted to see walked in.

"Hey, look, Ross is here. Maybe he can cheer you up," Monica suggested before slipping behind her brother and walking out the door.

For a moment, neither of them said anything and Rachel just gave him a weak smile. He smiled back and walked over to her, leaning down to give her a soft kiss on the lips. It was a sweet gesture, but to her it tasted bitter because she knew this would have to end eventually.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Hey."

Ross looked at her as if he was studying her expression. "Monica said I should cheer you up? Are you upset about something?"

"No, no, I've just had a lot on my mind lately," she lied, not wanting to make this a big deal and definitely not wanting to talk about it with him of all people.

"Then why don't we get some food? Food always helps me clear my mind," Ross suggested.

"Ok," she nodded, putting on a fake smile but not looking him in the eye. How to you look at someone knowing that you'd eventually have to push him away?

The answer is simple: you can't.

She quickly put away the ice cream and her spoon in the sink, walking over to him as he took her hand and led them to the door. Half of her was still struggling to come to terms with her decision, but the other half knew it was the right thing to do. She just had to let go and make sure that their relationship will never go further than being just friends.

Was this really what she wanted? She'd find out soon enough.

…

Later that night, Rachel found herself sitting next to Ross on his bed, both of them leaning against the headrest in silence. It wasn't rare for them to share moments of silence together, but this time it was different. This time it wasn't the same peaceful silence, but rather an awkward one. Neither of them shared a word and they both simply stared out in front of them, almost as if they didn't want to acknowledge the other.

They had just finished one of their weekly sessions, but tonight was different. It _felt_ different. Compared to other nights, tonight was slower and more passionate. The touching had been gentler and their kissing had felt more meaningful. Tonight hadn't been a night to simply pleasure each other, but it was almost as if they wanted to go as long as possible just to be together.

Tonight they hadn't had sex.

Tonight, they had made love.

And they both knew it too. It was obvious from the moment they had started that tonight was going to be different from the rest. From the way they looked at each other to the emotion put into every kiss and every touch, it was clear that there was something that needed to be addressed but neither of them wanted to be the first to bring it up.

For Rachel, her heart has been pounding ever since they finished and hasn't stopped since. She was anxious and nervous, knowing that inevitably one of them was going to bring up what happened tonight and they'd have to deal with the elephant in the room. But most of all, she was scared. She wasn't sure if she was ready to completely accept her decision. Deep down, she knew she was still deeply in love with him and if the time came, she wasn't sure if she'd have the strength to push him away from her heart.

As they sat in the awkward tension, she felt him shift around on the bed and instantly her heart sped up. She held her breath, and unbeknownst to her, a single tear rolled down her cheek as she prepared to face her fear and to accept the pain that will follow.

"Rachel, can I ask you something?" Ross asked suddenly. He didn't look at her when he spoke and kept his eyes forward.

"O-ok," she answered nervously.

"Where do you see yourself in a few years?"

His question caught her off guard as that was not what she was expecting. Amidst her confusion, for a moment her heartbeat slowed so she could ponder his strange question.

"Um… I don't know. I'd probably still be living in New York… hopefully working at a higher position at Ralph Lauren or somewhere else."

"Aside from your career, where do you see yourself? Do you see yourself starting a family?"

"I… I don't know," she answered, a little overwhelmed. She still didn't understand what he was trying to get at or what this had anything to do with them. "Um… what about you?"

Silence preceded her question as Ross just stared forward and for a second, she thought he didn't hear her until he finally spoke.

"I have this image of what I think my life would look like in the future. I imagine myself waking up in the morning with my wife next to me. We'd be reading the paper or a book and then our child would come bursting into the room. He/she would climb onto the bed and get right in-between us, and we'd start reading the paper together, as a family."

"Wow, that… that sounds really nice." For a moment, Rachel forgot about everything else and just pictured this sweet little moment in her head. She had to admit, a part of her wanted that future too.

As she imagined this, all of a sudden Ross turned to her and took her hand in his, looking her in the eyes. She stared into his deep brown swirls and saw just how dearly he held that image, but she also saw something else behind it that he has yet to reveal.

"Rach, that memory… there's more to it," he said softly, never leaving her eyes. "That memory… I envision that future… with you."

Rachel froze, unsure if she heard right. "Wh-what?"

"My wife, Rachel, my wife in that image is you. It's always been you Rach. No matter how many times I envision that image, you're the only face that has ever appeared with it." Ross gently squeezed her hand and reached up to gently caress her cheek, completely missing her shocked expression. "What I'm trying to say, Rach, is that I love you. I don't think I ever stopped loving you."

Rachel just sat there, mouth open and unable to respond. Even though she saw this coming a mile away, she still felt completely blindsided. She felt like she had let down her guard for a second and had just been hit by a train. When she tried to respond nothing came out, as if her mind still hasn't caught up with everything that has happened.

"Rachel?"

His voice snapped her out of her strange trance but she was still speechless. How do you respond to something like that?

"I… I don't know what to say…" she stammered.

"Well, an 'I love you too' would be nice," he answered plainly, and she wasn't sure if he was joking or being serious.

At that moment, Rachel knew she was about to make one of the biggest decisions of her life. She felt as if she was stuck between a rock and a hard place, with only two ways out and both with their own consequences. She also knew she was in love with him, but was love enough for her to trust him?

On one side, her heart was melting away in her chest from his touching words. Already was being told someone loves you a heartwarming thing to hear, but with the sweet way he said it, it was hard not to fall in love with him.

But on the other hand, she couldn't help but remember that night of their breakup. The pain she went through, both on that night and the months following that torturous moment. She remembered crying herself to sleep every night for as long as she could remember, wishing things could have been different. How could she put herself through that again?

That's when Monica's words echoed through her thoughts.

 _Anybody who had the decency to cheat on you before wouldn't hesitate to do it again._

And she was right, she knew she was right. She couldn't put herself in that situation again, no matter how much she loved him. The trust just wasn't there and she knew she'd only end up hurting them both if she told him the truth.

Rachel looked down at the bed sheets, unable to look him in the eyes knowing what she was about to tell him. And with a heavy heart, she closed her eyes and forced herself to say her next words.

"Ross I… I just don't feel the same about you."

He froze. "What?" he asked in disbelief, and she felt her heart shatter when she heard the tone of his voice.

"I'm sorry, I… I don't love you," she managed to say, choking on her own words.

"Oh…"

Silence followed and neither of them shared a word. Not hearing him say anything, she slowly turned to look at him and braced herself for a heartbreaking scene. Ross was just staring forwards with an expressionless look on his face that made her guilt rise in her chest. She desperately wanted to know what he was thinking. She had to push him away but she didn't want to lose him, no, she couldn't lose him. It would tear her apart.

"Ross, please talk to me," she said softly, almost begging.

"Talk to you? Talk to you about what?" he suddenly shot back, catching her off guard with the anger in his voice. "I open myself up to you. I tell you how I feel about you and you just shoot me down."

"No Ross, it's not like that. I-"

"No Rachel, it is like that. You don't love me, you don't need to make up some stupid excuse for it." He laughed, a sad, depressing laugh that made her heart writher. "So, what? None of this means anything to you? We've been doing this for almost a year and I mean nothing to you?"

"No, I didn't say that!" she exclaimed, fighting back tears. "Please Ross, don't think like that. Didn't we agree that we'd only be friends?"

"You're still referring to that?!" he shouted, startling her. "So all this time, we've only been _friends_. That's all we are, _friends with benefits_. People you go to when you just want a good FUCK and then forget about the next day."

Now tears were really falling from her eyes. "No Ross, you don't understand…"

"No, maybe YOU don't understand! I'm not some goddamn sex toy Rachel! I'm not someone you come to when you need a good fuck! I'm a fucking human being! I have emotions too!"

Suddenly he stood up from the bed, pulling on a pair of pants and grabbing a shirt off the ground before storming out of the room. Rachel immediately got up and frantically began pulling on her own clothes as tears spilled from her eyes. She was losing him. She was losing the most important person of her life and was hurting him in the process.

Once dressed, she quickly ran out of the room to go after him, finding him standing in the living room with his back turned towards her. He was shuttering and she could hear him crying softly which made her heart break.

"Please Ross, don't do this," she cried softly, slowly making her way towards him. "I don't want to lose you Ross. I can't lose you."

He didn't turn around. "Then tell me this Rachel, why did you agree to do this in the first place?"

She paused as tears still slid down her cheek. "What?"

Ross turned around to look at her and she saw the pain in his eyes. "Why did you decide to start this relationship with me?"

"I… I…" She paused, looking at the ground as she thought back to her motive for starting this in the first place. "I was lonely… Monica and Chandler were getting engaged and… and I didn't have anyone. I wanted to be with someone so I wouldn't feel alone… so I could have some comfort…"

"… So you found me," he finished for her, and she nodded slightly. "So you used me. You wanted comfort but you didn't want a relationship, so you came to me and you used me."

She began to panic. "No! No I… I didn't… "

But then she stopped. She stopped because she realised she did use him. He was right. She didn't want a relationship but she wanted to be with someone, so she took advantage of him. She used him for her own benefits without even knowing, and now she felt a huge wave of guilt and regret wash over her.

"I… I did use you…" she admitted softly, too ashamed to look him in the eye.

Ross stared up at the ceiling, his eyes watering as he took it all in. "You used me. After everything we've been through. After our entire history together, you thought that using me would be ok."

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry…" she cried, but she knew it was too late. The damage has been done and there was no way she could take it back.

Ross shook his head, holding back tears. "I can't believe it. I never would have thought you, of all people, would do this to me. I never thought you would stoop so low that you would use me for your personal benefits. I… I…"

Seeing him struggle like that broke her heart. She couldn't do this to him, and with tears flowing down her own cheeks she tried reaching out for his hand but he flinched away.

"…I can't believe I fell in love with you again…" he whispered, unable to stop a few tears from falling. "…I hate you Rachel. I hate you for toying with me and making me believe we had something. I hate you for using me. I hate you… but I still love you…"

His words hurt but it was her fault. She would take all the blame but she just couldn't see him like this. "Ross…"

Ross stared at the doorway and she couldn't understand what he was thinking. He looked so defeated, so betrayed, and it was all her fault. She lost him because she was too blind to see how wrong she had been and she wasn't sure if he could ever forgive her.

"Get out."

"What?" she asked, but she heard him and her last strands of hope were torn out by his monotone voice.

"Get out," he repeated, still staring at the door.

"Ross, please don't do this. Please… I'm begging you," she pleaded, crying her heart out in front of him.

He closed his eyes and just shook his head. "Rachel, just get out. Get out of my apartment. Just… get out."

It was over.

Rachel sniffled and let out a soft sob, putting her head down and slowly making her way to the front door. When she reached it she turned around for any last signs of hope but Ross still remained in his position, staring at the ground in front of him. She sniffled again, feeling tears hit the floor before opening the door and leaving his apartment, closing it behind her.

Outside in the hallway she leaned against the door and just let all her tears fall as uncontrollable sobs escaped her mouth. There was no word that could express the sadness and guilt she was feeling. She had just lost the most important person of her life and possibly the love of her life, and now she didn't know what to do.

 _What have I done?_

…

 **Author's Note: Sorry for those who asked for light drama but I'm always a dramatic writer at heart so I had to do something big to spicen this story up. Hope you all enjoyed nonetheless.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

The streets of New York were filled with cars and people, all of them headed somewhere. Some of them were alone, but she saw that many were couples walking hand-in-hand, talking and laughing with each other. She resented those people, lives so simple and without complications, completely unlike hers. Rachel let out a sigh and put her head down, continuing on her walk through the streets.

Days have passed since her and Ross' 'breakup' and not a day goes by that she doesn't regret everything that happened that night. She hated herself for making the decision she made. She hated herself for letting her fears make her decisions for her. But most of all, she hated herself for being so blind to see that she had started this relationship for all the wrong intentions and only realising it after it was too late. Now she was facing the consequences of her choices, and she was facing them without him by her side.

What made everything worse, however, was the fact that Ross was no longer speaking to her. Hell, they were barely even seeing each other as he had avoided making any contact with her since their breakup. And on the rare occasions where they would be in the same room, never was it a smile.

She had tried reaching out to him. She had tried to talk to him, she had tried to apologise, and one point she had even begged for his forgiveness but it all came to no avail. The warmth and care of his eyes that she loved so much were gone, replaced by a heavy shroud of darkness that reflected his pain and sadness, and she could see just how much she had hurt him.

She only wished he could see how much she was hurting; not only from the guilt of her decisions but also from the way he was treating her. But if one of them should be in pain, without questions it should be her.

Rachel let out another sigh, bathing in her misery as she continued on her desultory walk. Somewhere down the street she spotted a newsstand and she decided to check it out. Maybe she could pick up something to read and distract her from her thoughts.

A moment later, she was looking around the racks, her eyes scanning over all the headlines and magazine titles. There was some stuff on politics and a bunch more about last night's basketball game, nothing she was really interested in, when all of a sudden, in the corner of her eye, she spotted something that made her heart jump. A familiar figure stood just a few feet away, also checking out today's paper, and he didn't even have to turn around for her to know it was Ross.

Instantly her heart began to skip and she felt her hand shake nervously. This was the closest she's been to him in days, and she wondered if maybe it was a chance for them to reconcile. She desperately wanted to talk to him, not only to apologise and try to make him forgive her, but also just to hear his voice. She missed him but they were so far gone that all she wanted was to talk to him to ease her unsteady heart. Quietly she walked over to stand next to him, pretending to be browsing the papers.

"Oh hey!" she greeted, acting as if she had just run into him.

Her voice seemed to startle him and he turned his head to see who it was, but as soon as he saw her, his expression turned into a frown and he turned back at the paper he was looking at.

"Umm… so whatcha reading?" she asked, trying to continue the failing conversation. She looked over his shoulder to see what he was looking at. "Oh yeah, that one looks good. I hear Bush will be a great president."

Ross shook his head and let out a sigh of annoyance. "What do you want Rachel?" he asked coldly.

She softened. "I just want to talk."

"Well then I'm the wrong person to do that with," he answered harshly, turning away and looking at another rack of papers.

It hurt to be given the cold shoulder but she wouldn't let that deter her. She needed to talk to him. It didn't have to be about them, it could be anything. Anything that could show her there was still hope for their messed-up relationship.

She walked over to the rack beside his and scanned over the magazines. Looking over all the titles she spotted the newest edition of _Cosmopolitan_ , grabbing it for herself, while underneath she grabbed something that might be helpful.

"Oh look, here's the latest edition of _Discover_ ," she said, handing him the magazine.

Ross looked down at the magazine but ignored her hand, instead turning to the rack she got it from. Without a word, he reached over and grabbed himself one, turning away and walking over to the vendor to pay for it. Rachel frowned and sadly put away the magazine. It was like she wasn't even there, but she wouldn't give up. She quickly rushed over to vendor before Ross could pull out his wallet.

"I'll pay for that!" she offered, pulling out her purse and giving the vendor a handful of coins.

Ross just shook his head. "Give her back the money," he said, handing the man a five. "Keep the change."

Then, without another word or even a glance in her direction, he walked away. This time Rachel didn't follow, instead just watching him leave while holding back tears. Through her entire life she had never been ignored before and now, she was being given the silent treatment by the one person she cared about the most, and she had to admit, it hurt. It hurt a lot.

"Wow, that was the harshest cold shoulder I've ever seen," the vendor commented. "What did you do to deserve that?"

Rachel sighed.

"Something awful. Something really, really awful."

…

Later that night, Rachel slowly made her way up her apartment stairs, headed for Monica and Chandler's apartment for a group movie night. Earlier she wasn't even sure if she wanted to go, knowing Ross would be there, but she ultimately decided to go anyways since she was sure the others would ask questions if she didn't show up, and that was the last thing she wanted.

As she climbed the stairs, she realised that this was the first time she had been in her apartment since this morning. After work, all she had done was walk aimlessly around town and aside from her run in with Ross, she had barely talked to anyone. It had just been her, her thoughts, and her cloud of misery that hung over her head.

Approaching the door, Rachel let out a deep sigh, preparing herself for a torturous night. She could turn around right now and save her heart the pain of him ignoring her again, but she already knew she was going to go on anyways. She figured every chance she had to be near him was another chance at fixing their broken relationship, and at this moment, she would whole-heartedly give anything in this world just for that to happen.

As she turned the doorknob and stepped into the apartment, she was greeted by the sight of everyone gathered around the kitchen table, Ross standing at the head as he recalled some story to the others.

"… and so after work, my co-worker was like, 'What happened to my chair?'"

Everyone burst out laughing while Rachel simply remained quiet off to the side. She didn't know why but all of a sudden it felt like she was a stranger to the group, like she wasn't sure how to act around them. It was as if when one person in the group wasn't welcoming to her, no one was, but of course she knew that wasn't the case. It just felt like she was an outcast.

Still standing near the doorway, it was Monica who spotted her first and gave her a small wave. She smiled, that feeling of being an outcast disappearing, but when Ross turned to see who Monica was waving at, his expression immediately hardened and a slight frown appeared on his face. Rachel's smile also faded away, and at this Monica took notice.

Rachel quietly cleared her throat. "So, what are you guys talking about?"

"Nothing much. We were just waiting for you and Ross was telling us this funny story about his co-worker at the university," Phoebe responded.

"Yeah, so what happened next Ross? Did the guy flip out or something?" Joey asked.

Ross, still staring at her with an icy glare, suddenly turned away. "You know what, it's not really all that funny anyways." He grabbed the bowl of popcorn and his beer from the table and walked over to the TV, plopping himself down on the couch.

Rachel watched as everyone else just shrugged and joined him in the living room. She let out a sigh as she hung up her coat. At least he was making eye-contact now.

When she turned around to join the others, she was caught off guard by Monica who stood in front of her, looking at her quizzically.

"Um, what's up Mon? Aren't we going to watch a movie?"

"Rachel, did something happen between you and Ross?" Monica asked in a quiet tone.

She felt her palms begin to sweat. How did she know? "N-no, nothing happened," she answered quickly.

Monica raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Because when you walked in the room his attitude seemed to change all of a sudden."

"You're crazy Mon," she said, awkwardly laughing it off. "There's nothing happening, I swear."

"If you say so," Monica responded, though her tone showed that she didn't completely believe her.

Rachel avoided her friend's examining look as she hurried to the living room, not looking to take anymore of Monica's questions. She quietly took a seat on a vacant seat, spotting Ross' solemn look on his face, and sighed. Something certainly was happening between them, and if she was to be truthful, she sure could use Monica's help.

After Monica joined the group in living room and finding a spot on Chandler's lap, the lights were turned off and the movie was started. Rachel couldn't help but watch Monica and Chandler for a moment, feeling nothing but the sense of jealousy and envy. If only her and Ross' relationship could be that simple, but as usual, what she wanted always seemed to be far from reality. It was ironic really, how all of this started with her jealousy towards her friends and now it was coming back full circle.

It just wasn't fair.

…

As the movie went on, Rachel found herself unable to watch the movie whatsoever. She just had way too much on her mind to be able to enjoy anything really, which made the movie just background noise to her. She had hoped maybe this movie night would help her clear her mind, but with Ross only a few feet away from her, it was hard not to sneak glances at the man she's been dying to see all week.

Ross didn't seem to be any more interested in the movie than she was. She had noticed right from the start that though his eyes were directed forward, they seemed to stare off to the side and she knew from his unchanging look that he was deep in thought. Part of her desperately wanted to know what he was thinking about and whether or not it was about her, though judging by his slight frown on his face, she _knew_ he was thinking or her and chances are, they aren't pleasant thoughts.

A wave of sadness overcame her entire body as she realised just how bad this situation was. This entire week she had been trying to just be in the same room as him, hoping for the possibility of at least talking to him. But now, not only was he not talking to her or even looking at her, but his feelings towards her were openly plastered all across his face and perhaps that was the part that hurt the most. She could literally see the hatred in his emotion and that just tore her apart because while he was hating her, she was hopelessly loving him.

Quietly Rachel sunk back into her chair and brought her legs to her chest, her sad eyes desperately searching for his, but it was all in vain. To say she felt like a ghost was an understatement. She was literally invisible.

An hour later, the end-credits began to roll and the lights were turned back on as everyone yawned and stretched out in their seats. Most of the group began talking about the movie and what they thought about the ending but Rachel remained quiet off to the side. She couldn't exactly join in on the conversation since she had absolutely no idea what the movie was about, but that was alright because she really didn't feel like talking. Instead, she kept her eyes on Ross who was now out of his daydream-like state but also remained silent.

While the others talked, she watched as he checked the clock on the wall, swirling the beer in his hand before finishing off whatever was left inside. Placing the empty bottle on the table, he stood up and turned to the rest of the group.

"Hey guys, thanks for the movie but I think I'm going to go. It's getting a little late."

"Ok, see you tomorrow," Monica replied.

Chandler raised his bottle of beer. "Take care man."

Ross nodded, grabbing his jacket off the couch and turned to leave. As he did, his eyes passed by right across her as if she was just another piece of furniture in the room and completely missing her soft eyes. He walked towards the door and at that moment, she knew she had to do something, anything. She just can't let him leave knowing that they're this far apart in fixing this relationship.

After the door closed behind him, she quickly stood up and grabbed her jacket as well.

"Hey Mon, I'm going to go too. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Alright, bye Rach," Monica waved, as did everyone else, and she quickly hurried out of the apartment.

As soon as she stepped out into the hallway she found it empty and immediately turned towards the stairwell. She quickly began to descend the stairs, trying to catch up to him before he leaves. She finally caught up to him on the main floor, just as he was beginning to walk out the main doors.

"Ross, wait!" she called out, running forwards. For a second he stopped, but as soon as he recognised it was her voice, he continued walking out the doors and out onto the streets. Rachel burst from the doors shortly after him and seeing that he wasn't stopping, she immediately ran over and grabbed his arm forcefully. "Ross, I said wait. We need to talk."

"I have nothing to say to you," he replied coldly, jerking his arm away from her.

"Well I have something to say to you!" She grabbed his arm again and forcefully turned him around so he was facing her. She shivered from the icy look in his eyes but she forced herself to stay strong. "Ross please, just listen to me, ok? I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry and I'll continue apologizing for the rest of my life if I have to. But this, whatever's happening between us, I can't take it. I just can't take it. You ignore me whenever I try to talk to you and you sometimes don't even bother looking at me. It's like I'm completely invisible to you."

He just gave her a cold look. "Is that all? Because if so, I'm just going to go."

"No! Ross please, I'm sorry. I know I hurt you-"

"You know you hurt me?!" he interrupted with a harsh tone. "Rachel, you did more than just hurt me. You used me. You broke my trust. You made me feel like the lowliest person alive, and you expect me to just forgive you because you said 'sorry'?!"

"No, I don't expect forgiveness or anything like that. I just can't take this anymore. Ross please…" Her voice broke for a moment as her outer shell collapsed and a few tears began to appear in her eyes. "… Can't you see how much this hurts me? Can't you see how miserable I've been since you started ignoring me?"

"Well then maybe you should have thought of that before you decided to use me," he responded harshly and this time, she had nothing left to say. With a jerk of his arm, he turned around and walked away, standing alone in the dark street.

Tears streamed down her face as she just stood there, watching the man she loved turn his back on her. Why couldn't he see the pain he was causing her? Why couldn't he see just how badly she wanted to mend their relationship, and how hard he was making it?

No matter what she did, they were still worlds apart and now, she didn't know what to do anymore.

Now, she was lost.

…

 **Author's Note: Sorry guys, had a lot of trouble with this one. It's meant to be a transition chapter into the next one, hence the length and the lack of plot. Hopefully the next one will be easier to write.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Rachel sat at the table in Monica and Chandler's apartment, head in her hand as her thoughts swirled in her head. Monica was there as well, busy making dinner for tonight as she rambled on about her day and how excited she was about the wedding, though if she was to be honest, she wasn't really listening.

A couple more days have gone by since she had confronted Ross on the streets, and things really haven't gotten any better. He was still ignoring her and giving her the cold shoulder, not showing any signs of wanting to mend their relationship. The only thing that could be pointed out was that since her confrontation, he seems to finally glance in her direction from time to time. At least now she finally felt visible, she just didn't feel welcomed.

It was tough, it really was. Every day, it felt like this gaping hole in her chest just got bigger and bigger, affecting not only her happiness but her personality. She couldn't even remember the last time she had a genuine smile, or even just a modest laugh. She wasn't enjoying work, she wasn't enjoying being at home, and the worst part was even her group of friends felt foreign to her. Before, they were her fall back in times of pain, but now she had to put on a fake smile and pretend like nothing was bothering her.

She hated it. She hated all of this. She just wanted all of this to end.

She just wanted him back.

"Oh, I'm so excited! In just a few weeks, I'm going to be married! This is a dream come true!" Monica gushed, pacing around in front of her. "Oh, I just can't wait! Can you?"

"Mmhmm…"

"And the place is going to be so nicely decorated! There's going to be flowers, and music, and everyone will say that my wedding was the best wedding they've ever been to!"

"…Mmm…"

"Oh, and my dress! I absolutely love that dress we picked up. I can't wait to put that on and take photos in it! I'll have a photo of Chandler and I framed up on that wall… Oh wait, what are you going to wear?"

"Mmhmm, yeah."

Monica paused and turned around. "Rachel, are you even listening to me?"

"…Mmmhmm…" she mumbled again.

"Rachel!"

She jumped at the call of her name, snapping out of her trance. She looked up sheepishly at Monica, who was looking at her strangely.

"What's gotten into you lately? You seem to zone out whenever we talk."

Rachel scratched her head. "Um… yeah, sorry Mon. I just have a lot on my mind right now…" she trailed off, looking down.

"Uh oh," Monica said, seeing her expression. "I know that face. I'll get the ice cream."

"No, no ice cream," she quickly said, surprising her friend. "I'm just not feeling it."

"You don't want ice cream? Now I'm really worried." Monica took a seat and looked at her. "Alright, talk to me. What happened with that guy?"

Rachel was about to ask how she knew but realised it was pretty obvious. She sighed. "It's all just a huge mess Mon. It's even more complicated than the last time we talked, and I don't know what to do."

"Ok, well then why don't you start by telling me what happened after our talk?" Monica suggested. "You never told me if you broke up with him or not."

She looked down sadly, the memories of that horrific night returning to her. "We broke up… but we broke up in the worse way possible and I just feel so guilty about it. We were lying on his bed and out of the blue, he started talking about the future and all of a sudden, he told me he loved me and wanted me to be a part of his future."

"Woah, I didn't see that coming. So what did you do? Did you tell him you loved him back?"

Rachel shook her head. "No, I had to lie by telling him I didn't have the same feelings, and he just looked so devastated after I did. Then he got angry and started questioning me about how much our relationship actually meant to me, and I had to lie about that too."

"Ouch, that must have been awful."

"That's not all. He left the bedroom and I followed him. I was crying… we both were crying… and that's when he asked me why I started this relationship in the first place." Rachel swallowed, holding back her tears. "And I told him the truth, of how I used him for my own comfort."

"Oh, Rachel. How could you do that to someone? Using them," Monica asked. "That's so unlike you."

"I didn't know! I didn't realise until it was too late, and by then he already figured it out. He told me to leave his apartment and since then he's been avoiding me and I can't even talk to him now."

"Wait, hold on, why does that matter?" Monica cut-in. "I thought you broke up. You still want to talk to him?"

Rachel shook her head and looked down. "If only you knew who it is…"

Monica reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. "Look Rach, I don't need to know who it is to see that you shouldn't be so upset. It's a breakup; of course it's going to be hard. I don't think you actually still want to keep in contact with him. I think you're just guilty over whole thing."

"No but I do want to keep in contact with him!" she blurted. "Mon, you don't understand, I still love him. I want him in my life. I love him so much and it hurts whenever I see him give me the cold shoulder. Ending our relationship was the worst decision I've ever made and I regret it so much right now."

"Honey, I know how you feel right now but trust me, what you did was the right thing to do. This is the guilt talking. You were with him for almost a year so you miss him. That's all."

Rachel shook her head and looked away. No, she knew she loved him. She knew what her heart was telling her and she knew none of this was being influenced by guilt. She missed him but it was because she loved him. If only Monica understood. If only she knew…

"It's Ross."

Monica looked at her. "What?"

"It's Ross," she repeated. "The guy is Ross."

"You mean _our_ Ross? My brother Ross? The Ross you used to date and the one you married?" Monica questioned. "That Ross?"

Rachel slowly nodded. "That Ross."

"Holy crap, this changes everything," Monica said, a little astonished and surprised. "All this time, it was Ross? Why didn't you guys tell us?"

"Because we didn't want anyone to find out. It was our secret that was strictly sex, until all these feelings came in."

"Wow, I can't believe none of us knew. You two hid it better than me and Chandler did," Monica pointed out. Suddenly she snapped her fingers. "I knew something must have happened between you two! You both have been acting so strangely for the past few days."

Rachel nodded sadly. "That's him avoiding me and me trying to fix things."

"That explains a lot," Monica said. "Hold on, if Ross is the guy you were with, then he's the one you used? Rachel that's awful. That's even worse than if it was anyone else. After everything you both have been through, how could you just use him?"

"Monica please, I don't need you to tell me what I already know," she responded, tearing up. "I feel awful. So, so awful. I can't even explain how bad I feel and I've been so miserable lately. It's all my fault Mon, but now I don't know what to do. I love him so much."

"Well have you tried talking to him? Maybe apologising for what happened?"

"I've tried that but it's not enough. I hurt him Mon. I can see it in his eyes. He hates me."

"No, sweetie Ross doesn't hate you," she comforted, gently stroking her hand. "I've watched him for years, he could never hate you. You said it yourself, he told you he loves you. Just because you hurt him doesn't change that."

Rachel sniffed, wiping away a tear. "I hope you're right Mon. I just want this all to end. I just want him to take me back. I can't stand not being with him."

"He'll come around Rachel. I know he will. You just need to give him time and keep trying to talk to him. As long as you show that you aren't giving up on him, he won't give up on you."

She nodded and let the tears fall from her eyes. Monica walked over and pulled her into a hug that she needed. She was so glad she had her as a friend. What she would do without her, she had no idea.

A few moments later her tears slowed and Monica returned to the other side of the table. She felt better after their talk but there was still something that bothered her a little and she wanted to bring it up.

"Hey Mon, can I ask you something?" she asked.

"Sure, what is it?"

Rachel thought for a moment. "Before, when I first told you that the guy I was seeing was an ex-boyfriend, why didn't you mention Ross when you were listing the guys who have cheated on me?"

Monica scratched her throat and looked around awkwardly. "Um… ok, look Rach, I don't want you to think I'm picking sides, because I'm not. But to me… what Ross did… I don't consider that cheating."

"What? How can you say that?" she perplexed, surprised that Monica thought that.

"Just hear me out, ok?" Monica said calmly, not wanting her to get upset. "To me, cheating is something someone does on purpose and with the intention to either hurt someone else or for their own benefit. I don't believe Ross would ever want to hurt you like that on purpose. I know my brother enough to know that he loved you more than anything in the world and that cheating on you was the last thing he ever wanted to do."

"He slept with another woman on our anniversary. If that's not cheating, what would you call that?"

Monica gave her a soft look and reached over to touch her arm.

"A mistake."

…

A mistake.

It was a mistake.

All this time, has she been over-thinking this? Was it possible that she had felt so hurt that she was blind to see Ross' side of things?

A mistake. Everyone makes mistakes. She was currently living the consequences of her mistakes. Could what happened so many years ago and what broke up their relationship have been just a simple mistake?

She had told him that he was someone who she thought would never hurt her, but aside from that one moment, he had never shown anything that would disprove of that. He had always been so caring of her, so loving. He had loved her for almost all his life and made one small mistake that had cost him everything.

But it was a mistake. And now, it was a mistake she was ready to forgive.

Now she just wished he could forgive her mistake.

As she approached the familiar door her nerves began to kick in as her palms began to sweat and her heartbeat quickened. It had felt like an eternity since she had last been here and if the butterflies in her stomach didn't tell her how nervous she was, her shortness of breath did.

When she got to the door she stared at it for a moment, calming herself down and running through the things she wanted to say in her head. With a shaky hand, she reached unlocked the door with her key. Quietly she pushed it ajar and walked in, surprised to find him sitting on the couch, his back turned to her as he seemed to be playing a soft tune on a guitar.

For a moment, she wasn't sure if he even knew she was there but she didn't want to disturb him just yet. The tune was soft, almost relaxing and she recognised it but just couldn't remember the title. It was then when he began to sing and not only did she remember the name of the song but her heart went out to the lyrics.

" _Is it getting better?_

 _Or do you feel the same?_

 _Will it make it easier on you now?_

 _You got someone to blame._

 _You say, one love, one life._

 _When it's one need in the night._

 _One love, we get to share it._

 _It leaves you, baby, if you don't care for it._ "

There was so much emotion in his voice that she couldn't help but tear up at the sound of him singing the lyrics. She had heard him sing before, and he had sung to her a few times in the past, but never had it been like this.

" _Did I disappoint you?_

 _Or leave a bad taste in your mouth?_

 _You act like you never had love._

 _And you want me to go without._

 _Well it's, too late, tonight,_

 _To drag the past out into the light._

 _We're one, but we're not the same._

 _We get to, carry each other, carry each other._

 _One._ "

The lyrics seemed to speak to her, reflecting exactly how she felt. She had heard this song before but hearing it now, it was almost like a totally different one. It had meaning for her now, meaning for them, and tears trickled down her cheek as she listened to him continue.

" _Have you come here for forgiveness?_

 _Have you come to raise the dead?_

 _Have you come here to play Jesus,_

 _To the lepers in your head?_

 _Did I ask too much? More than a lot._

 _You gave me nothing now it's, all I got._

 _We're one, but we're not the same._

 _Well we, hurt each other and we'll do it again. You say,_

 _Love is a temple, love a higher law._

 _Love is a temple, love the higher law._

 _You ask me to enter, but then you make me crawl._

 _And I can't be holding be holding on, to what you got,_

 _When all you got it hurt._

 _One love, one blood._

 _One life, you got to do what you should._

 _One life, with each other._

 _Sisters, brothers._

 _One life, but we're not the same._

 _We get to, carry each other. Carry each other._

 _One._ "

He repeated the last word over and over, his voice breaking after every one as her heart broke with him. Finally it all slowed down and he strummed one last chord, ending the song that had so much meaning for them and their situation. His closed his eyes and let his head drop as she wiped away a tear, wishing she could go over there and hug him.

"That was so… beautiful."

Her voice seemed to startle him as he spun around to see who was there. When that it was her he immediately frowned, turning back around and putting away the guitar into its case.

"How did you get in?" he asked coldly, not looking at her.

"I still have my key," she answered softly. Ross shook his head, zipping up the case as she stood there nervously. "I didn't know you played the guitar."

"Yes you do, I told you I played in a band before," he answered and she sensed a little irritation in his voice.

"I meant I thought you played the keyboard."

"I do. I play the keyboard when I'm expressing myself but when I feel like I have a lot of emotions I want to let out, I play the guitar."

"Oh."

Silence passed by as she just looked at him sitting on the couch. She had tried to break the ice a little but it seemed like that didn't matter because he was ice cold.

"What are you doing here?" his voice cut through the silence.

She softened. "I want to talk."

"Haven't I already made it clear that I'm not interested in talking to you?"

"Well I'm not leaving until I at least say what I want to say," she said firmly. She took a deep breath and her eyes softened once more, looking for his. "Ross, I miss you."

To her surprise, he sighed and she could see his shell disappear around him. "I miss you too Rachel, but you hurt me and lost my trust, and that's not something I can forgive easily."

"I know, and I don't expect you too." She took another breath before continuing. "I just came to tell you… I'm not going to give up. I don't care how much you shut me out or how much you hate me right now. I can't imagine my life without you and I'll keep fighting for you until you finally accept me back into yours."

"Why do you care so much? You made it clear that you don't love me. Why do you still want me in your life?"

Rachel paused for a moment, gathering her courage, before responding.

"Because I lied."

Ross perked and turned to her. "What?"

"I said I lied. Ross I…" She paused again, this time for a different reason. She wasn't ready to tell him she loved him, at least not yet. "…I have feelings for you Ross, that's why I'm not willing to give you up."

"And why didn't you mention this before?" he questioned. "You tell me this now, weeks after I confess my love for you."

"Because I wasn't sure if I had these feelings or not," she responded. "I wasn't sure how you would react. I was… I was afraid."

"Afraid? What were you afraid of?"

She looked down. "Afraid of _us_. Afraid of the possibility that I might get hurt again, and afraid of hurting you as well. What happened with our first breakup, I'm afraid it'll happen again except this time, I won't be able to handle it afterwards."

"We've been through so much since then. How can you let that play a factor of what's happening now?"

"Because pain like that doesn't go away Ross," she said, tears appearing in her eyes. "When you told me you loved me, I was overjoyed but at the same time, I was scared because all of a sudden these memories of what happened started to come back to me."

Ross looked her in the eyes for what seemed to be the first time in forever. "Rachel, if you keep letting the past affect what happens in the present, neither you nor I will ever be happy."

She nodded. "But that's what I wanted to tell you. I'm not afraid anymore Ross. I realised today that what happened all those years ago, it was just a mistake. A mistake that I've finally been able to forgive. Everyone makes mistakes…" Her eyes softened and she looked him deep in the eyes. "… and I'm hoping you can forgive my mistake."

Ross sighed and turned around, breaking their eye-contact. "This is different Rachel. This isn't something that happened years ago, this is something that happened recently. I can't forgive you yet because these scars are still fresh in my mind. That's why no matter what you tell me right now, it's not going to change anything right away."

"Oh… ok," she said, looking down sadly. She didn't expect him to forgive her so easily but she still felt rejected.

Ross saw her look and sighed. "Rachel, do you know why I agreed to start our relationship."

She looked at him and shook her head.

"Well the reason I agreed to it was because I thought you wanted to give _us_ another chance."

"What?" she asked, a little shocked at his revelation. "Then why did you say that you didn't want it to be anything more than us having sex?"

"That's just something I say," he responded. "You know me Rachel, you know us. We never say what we actually want to say right away."

"So you've loved me all this time?" she questioned.

He nodded. "Longer actually. Since our divorce, I realised that I still held feeling for you. Then when you wanted us to have this sexual relationship, that's when I realised I my love for you was real and perhaps this relationship was a chance for us to get back together. Instead I find out your intentions were completely different from mine and that this entire time, I was holding false hope for us."

Suddenly her heart started to beat as she worried that maybe things have changed. "Ross, do you still love me?" she asked with a shaky voice, afraid that his answer is different than before.

Ross sighed. "I don't know…"

Immediately she felt a sharp pain in her heart. Did he not love her anymore? "Ross please, I know I hurt you and I know your feelings towards me might have changed, but I can't imagine one day seeing you with another woman. I just can't," she said, beginning to tear up.

He held up a hand to get her to stop. "Rachel, let me finish. I was going to say that I don't know if I love you completely because right now my emotions are all mixed up. I love you for you, but at the same time, I hate you for what you did," he explained. "I can't tell you what I will feel later, but I will tell you I love you enough to not be chasing after other women."

"Ok," she said, wiping away the tears in her eyes. A wave of relief came over her body. If he didn't love her anymore because of what she did, then she would forever hate herself.

Another moment of silence went between them as they were engulfed in their own thoughts. She looked at him, trying to read his facial expression but it was hard to do so. Finally he let out a sigh and turned to her.

"I'm still angry at you Rachel."

Her heart sunk but she accepted his response. She told him she'd work for his trust back and she meant it. She remained silent but nodded, and to her surprise, he smiled a little.

"I'm glad you came to talk to me though."

She managed a small smile of her own. "It was more for me. I had to see you, otherwise my heart wouldn't be able to take being away from you for so long."

He nodded. "I just need time."

She understood. Just she needed time after their breakup, he needs some time to think everything over. She would wait for him and when he's ready, they'll figure something out together.

"I'll see you around then," she said, managing a weak smile.

"Yeah, I guess so."

They made eye-contact once more before she turned around to head out the door.

"Leave the key," his voice came behind her.

Her smile disappeared but she did what she was told, leaving the key on the nearby counter. Without looking back, she closed the door behind her, feeling a whole lot better about their situation than before. It wasn't perfect, but at least it was better.

They say time heals all wounds.

She just hoped that the saying is true.

…

 **Author's Note: I don't usually put songs in my writing but this one just worked so well with the plot line that I just had to. If you don't know, the song is** _ **One**_ **by** _ **U2**_ **, one of my favourite classics, and I know that every author will tell you this but I seriously recommend giving it a listen. It's such a moving song if you have any connection with the lyrics and if not, look at it from Ross and Rachel's perspective and you'll see the beauty of the song.**

 **Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed. Next week's chapter should be longer with deeper context so be prepared for a longer update time. I may need a few more days to do some research and make sure it comes out the way I want it.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Rachel took a deep breath as she stared at herself in the hotel room mirror. She ran her hands along her yellow-green dress as she tried to calm down her thoughts.

Today was the day of Monica and Chandler's wedding and everyone couldn't be happier for the happy couple. Following tradition, the night before they had all gone to a hotel to stay in prior to the wedding and now that it was the next morning, everyone was expected to get ready.

Today marked not only a special day for Monica and Chandler, but a special day for her too. It just so happened to be that Monica wanted to get married exactly one year after she and Chandler had gotten engaged to make her day to remember even more memorable. What she didn't know, however, was that this day was one that Rachel remembered very clearly because if she and Ross were still together, this would also be their one-year anniversary.

Rachel sighed as she thought about the irony of it all. Just as it was years ago, she still has yet to spend her one-year anniversary with her partner. Even more ironic was that it was the same partner, same man, just different situations.

Speaking of her relationship with Ross, she had to admit that things have been better as of late, but they still weren't where she hoped they would be. Since their talk she had decided to give him his space to think, and while she still remains patiently waiting it's been over two weeks and she still hasn't gotten a response. They still bump into one another from time to time and he'll pass her by with a simple nod or a 'hello', but aside from that they're relationship seems to have come to a stand-still. She was glad he was no longer ignoring her but at the same time, she wished things were back to how they used to be, where they could talk without any tension, laugh and share stories with each other. Deep down she still missed him, and especially now, she needed him more than ever.

Taking another deep breath, Rachel ran her eyes along her long bridesmaid dress. She had to admit, Monica had chosen her a perfect dress to wear. Its sleek look held her curvy form while showing off just a little bit of cleavage at the top. The beautiful flower pattern also reflected the elegant look of the dress, and along with her matching earrings and necklace and her hair tied back in a neat bun, her look for the wedding was looking particularly graceful. Too bad what she was feeling on the inside was nothing like how she was feeling on the outside.

On the inside, blind to anyone watching, was a complete mess of emotions. Fear, sadness, worry, anxiety; all of it just blended together uneasily to give her an awful feeling in the pit of her stomach. It had started just a day or two ago when she realised she had missed something very important, and after making sure this morning, she knew her greatest fear was true. She was not ready for this at all, not even in the slightest, and with the evidence stashed deep in her trash can, buried under a pile of toilet paper, she was going to force herself not to let anyone know about this. Not today, not yet.

Holding back tears, she slowly moved her hands from the top of her ribcage down her side, finally resting them on her stomach. With deep breaths, she stared at the image of herself in the mirror and wondered how she was ever going to be able to do this. How was she going to tell him, especially since they still haven't completely solved their own problems?

Suddenly a knock on her hotel room door cut through her thoughts as she heard Monica yelling from the other side.

"Hurry up Rachel! It's my wedding day! I'm getting married!"

Rachel looked back at herself and took one last deep breath out. She just had to get through today without anything happening, and tomorrow she could figure out what she was going to do. She just had to put aside her problems for now and at the very least be happy for her best friends' wedding day.

She can do this.

"Rachel!"

"I'm coming!" she yelled back, quickly flattening out her dress before walking over to the door.

She had no idea what was going to happen today, but one thing was for sure:

She was not ready.

…

Music could be heard through the double doors as the group of friends ended their conversation and gave the bride their final 'good luck's before they entered into the ceremony. Chandler had already gone in first with both his parents by his side, and now it was their turn to enter.

"Oh, I can't believe it," Monica cried happily. "This is it, I'm finally getting married."

"I'm so happy for you Mon," Phoebe gushed, giving her friend a hug.

"You deserve it honey," Rachel smiled, also giving her a hug. "You've been waiting for this for so long; it's finally your turn."

"Thanks guys, and thank you, Mom, Dad," she said, turning to her parents who were off to the side. "Thanks for raising me and bringing me to this moment."

"Nonsense Monica, you did this all by yourself," Judy replied, earning a smile from her daughter.

"Yeah, if anything thank _you_ for paying for this," Jack chimed in. "We didn't have to pay a nickel to come here!"

Monica laughed softly, bringing her parents in for a hug. "Thanks Mom, thanks Dad."

After they broke Ross stepped forward, the biggest smile on his face as he approached Monica and brought her in for a loving hug. "God, I can't believe my little sister is finally going to be married. Just don't mess it up like I did."

She laughed and hugged her brother back. "Thanks. I love you."

"I love you too," he replied, kissing her on the forehead before breaking their embrace. "Good luck."

"Yeah, go break a leg!" Joey added from the side and everyone gave him a look. "Um, actually don't do that, but you know what I mean."

Ross, Joey, and Phoebe walked over to their places before they entered the ceremony, leaving Rachel behind looking at Monica. The two women clasped hands and she gave Monica's hand a good luck squeeze as she squeezed back in appreciation. As they smiled at each other, Monica surprised her when she leaned forward and neared her ear.

"It'll happen for you too. I know it will," she whispered, nodding towards where Ross was standing.

Rachel smiled a little, though the butterflies returned to her stomach. "Thanks Mon. I sure hope so." With one final smile, they let go as she slowly made her way over to her own placing.

Up ahead, she spotted Phoebe and Joey, bridesmaid and groomsman/minister respectively, already paired up leaving her the only spot behind them with Ross. Feeling her heartbeat increase and her nerves kick in, she quietly walked over and stood next to him. Neither of them looked at each other as there was still a little tensions between them, and for a moment where all was silent in the hallway, her heart was beating so loudly she could have sworn he heard it standing next to her.

Holding her breath, the doors finally opened up and as calm as she could, she let him take her arm in his. The contact of their arms touching sent shivers down her spine as they began their walk into the ceremony and down the aisle. Putting on a fake smile, she had to regulate her breathing as her heart pounded against her chest and her free arm tried not to shake while holding the flowers in her hand.

"You look beautiful today."

His voice startled her and she nervously looked up, meeting his deep brown eyes. She wasn't sure if he said that just to be polite or if he actually meant it, but either way she was so caught off guard she wasn't quite sure what to say.

"Th-thank you," she stammered nervously, earning a small nod before he turned forward.

Rachel let out a breath but couldn't help but smile a little. She had felt it, in his eyes, the connection they still had. There was still hope, and right now, when she needed him more than ever, every little bit of hope helped.

After what felt like the longest walk of her life, they finally reached the front of the alter where Phoebe, Joey, and Chandler were already standing in their respective positions. Unhooking their arms, though she was a little reluctant to do so, they took their places as best-man and maid-of-honour. For Rachel, as she stood in her spot, she had to take a moment to calm her breathing and let her heart beat return to its normal pulse. She couldn't help but glance at him in the corner of her eye but forced herself to focus forwards as the bride was about to make her entrance.

Moments later, the music changed and everyone stood up as the double doors swung open, revealing Monica dressed in her long white wedding gown accompanied by her parents on her right and left. With a huge smile on her face, she began her walk towards the alter, her eyes staring forward and locking with Chandler's as she walked down the aisle one step at a time.

Rachel looked on, a slight ping of jealousy in her chest but at the same time, who wouldn't be jealous? Monica looked absolutely stunning in that wedding dress and everyone's eyes were on her. Even though she was jealous however, she was still happy for her friend and the fact that she was finally marrying the man for her.

As Monica neared the alter, her parents kissed her on the cheek and set her off as they took their seats to the side. She stared up at her soon-to-be husband who came down to greet her, cracking a joke before they returned to their respective positions as bride and groom.

Once everyone sat back down and everyone was settled, Joey smiled at the couple in front of him before speaking.

"Dearly beloved," he started, smiling at the crowd. "We are gathered here today to join this man, and this woman, in the bonds of holy matrimony. I've known Monica and Chandler for a long time, and right from the start I knew they were perfect for each other."

The couple smiled at each other as Rachel looked on, feeling both happy but envious of what her friends have and what she didn't.

"And now…" Joey continued, reaching for his coat pocket. His expression changed as he fumbled around in the pocket, reaching for his other one but not finding anything either. He quickly turned back to the crowd, clearing his throat. "… as I've left my notes in my hotel room, we shall proceed to the vows. Monica?"

Monica cleared her throat, and looked up into Chandler's eyes. "Chandler, for so long I wondered if I would ever find my prince. My soul mate. I spent my entire life trying to find the one person who could complete me, but I could never find that man. Then, three years ago, while I was down and felt alone, I turned to a friend for comfort, and instead, I found everything that I'd been looking for my whole life. And now… here we are… with our future before us and surprises life has yet to give us, and I only want to spend it with you. My prince. My soul mate. My friend."

The crowd awed as Rachel couldn't help but shed a tear. Not only was it a beautiful speech, but all she could do was imagine herself standing in Monica's place, saying those exact words towards the man who stood only a few feet away. Though they were Monica's words, it felt like they were her own and it only made her feel worse about the situation she was in.

Joey nodded at Monica before turning to the groom. "Chandler, now it's your turn."

Chandler smiled and looked at his bride lovingly. "Monica… I thought this would be the most difficult thing I ever had to do, but when I saw you walked down that aisle, I realised how simple it is: I love you. Any bumps in the road we might have, any fights or any conflicts we'll endure, it doesn't matter because I will always love you and we'll always get through it together. You are the person I was meant to spend the rest of my life with, and nothing in this world would make me not want to spend my life with you."

As Rachel teared up once again from Chandler's moving words, she looked up and found herself locking eyes with Ross on the other side. At first she held her breath, feeling her heart quicken from his deep gaze, but as she stared into his large brown swirls, she felt a connection between them stronger than she ever felt before. The vows Monica and Chandler gave reflected their relationship in more ways than one, and they knew it too. There was just an unspoken truth that they both understood;

This wedding could have been theirs… and it still could be.

Still staring into each other's eyes, Joey continued on with the Declaration of Intent and for a split second, it felt as though everyone around them disappeared, leaving only the two of them standing alone with Joey's voice echoing in the background.

"~~~, do you take this woman, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to share your life openly, standing with her in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, in hardship and in ease, to cherish and love forever more?"

"I do," Chandler answered, though all she saw was a small smile appear on Ross' face.

"And ~~~, do you take this man, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to share your life openly, standing with him in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, in hardship and in ease, to cherish and love forever more?"

"I do," Monica answered.

" _I do_ ," she whispered inaudibly to everyone but herself as she smiled into her own true love's eyes.

"Well then, by the powers vested in me by the State of New York… and the Internet guys… I now pronounce you husband and wife."

As Monica and Chandler leaned in, Rachel found herself engulfed in her own imagination where she and Ross were also leaning in to seal their own wedding with a kiss. She closed her eyes, leaning forward and…

"Oh crap, wait!"

Joey's voice cut through her thoughts as it broke apart Monica and Chandler as well as made her and Ross break eye-contact.

"What?" Monica asked.

"We forgot the rings. Darn it, so close!" Joey exclaimed as everyone rolled their eyes. "Uh… let's have the rings…"

Rachel and Ross stepped forward without making eye-contact, handing the rings to Monica and Chandler as they realised how long they had held each other's gaze earlier. But for Rachel, she wanted to make sure that the connection she felt was real and not just a figment of her imagination so as she backed up, she glanced up into his eyes for just a moment before quickly looking the other way, blushing slightly.

It was real, it was there, and now she knew in her heart that their love was still there. Now, it was up to him to decide what happens next.

"We good? Yeah? Good?" Joey asked once the rings were on, checking to make sure he wasn't forgetting something else. He cleared his throat and continued. "Once again… I pronounce you husband and wife. Now kiss her!"

"Oh I will," Chandler smiled, and with that, the two shared their first kiss as a married couple, with everyone clapping for them in the background.

…

"Oh, they look so good together, don't they?"

"Yeah…"

Rachel and Phoebe sat at the table as they watched Monica and Chandler slow danced on the dance floor, swaying back and forth to the music. Nearby others couples danced to the soft music as well but it was clear that the newly-weds had the spotlight, as they should be.

"Can you believe they're actually married? I feel like just yesterday we were in our mid-twenties sitting around the coffee house talking about our lives," Phoebe commented.

"Yeah, I know…" Rachel mumbled, thinking back to a simpler time. Subconsciously her eyes began to scan the crowd of people, looking for a certain someone but no luck finding him.

"Rachel?"

"Hmm?"

"You doing alright? You look zoned out," Phoebe asked, concerned.

She quickly turned around. "No, I'm good," she said, giving a weak smile. "Where's Joey?"

"I think he said he was going to grab some food and pick up girls, so I don't think we'll see him for a while."

She nodded, and played with her hair a little. "And, uh… what about Ross?"

Phoebe shrugged. "I'm not sure. He might be talking to some guests or something."

"Oh, ok."

Looking down, her hands silently played with a fork as her mind began to wander. Now that the wedding celebration was pretty much over, her own personal matters were coming back to her full throttle and the reality of it all was worrisome.

"Rach, you sure you're ok?" Phoebe asked, startling her slightly,

"Hmm? Uh… yeah… yeah I'm good…"

Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "I don't believe you."

She took a deep breath and mustered up a fake smile. "See? Look, I'm smiling. I'm good."

That's when Phoebe noticed something and squinted a little to see if she could see it better. She had noticed it earlier but now that she was closely examining her, she could see a slight difference in her appearance.

"Hold on," she said, leaning in and inspecting her very closely.

"What?"

"You look different," Phoebe concluded, backing off a bit but keeping her eyes on her. "Yeah, you look different to me today. It's almost like you have this glow around you."

Rachel gulped at that last part, feeling her palms begin to sweat as she scratched her head nervously. She knew she should have expected something when Phoebe began to examine her. She's always been the most observant one of the group.

"Um, I don't know what you're talking about," she replied shakily.

Phoebe continued to look at her. "No, no there's definitely a glow. It's all over you."

"You know what, it might be my aura you're seeing," she cut-in quickly, desperately grasping for straws. "I told you, I'm perfectly happy. That's probably what you're seeing."

Her words seemed to make Phoebe think, but after a moment she shook her head. "No, that's not it. And you're lying by the way. I can see you're aura and it's the opposite of bright; it's all sad and murky. This glow is something else."

Now she was really starting to panic. Her heart was racing as she tried to find any excuse to throw Phoebe off her scent, but with the way she was looking at her, she knew that it was only a matter of time before she realised what it was.

"Oh my God!"

And there it was. Rachel sighed and looked down as Phoebe's mouth dropped.

"Oh my God!" she repeated, completely shocked. "I know that glow! You're pregnant!"

Rachel closed her eyes and slowly nodded sadly. "I know…"

"This is huge! Like, holy crap! You're pregnant!"

"Look Pheebs, no one knows about this yet so do you think we can keep this between us?" she asked, looking around cautiously.

"It's a secret? We haven't done this in a while," Phoebe commented, but turned to her with a sincere look. "Ok, but seriously, I have so many questions. Who's the father?"

Rachel's eyes saddened as she avoided her gaze. "I… I don't really want to say. Plus I haven't even told him yet so until I do, I don't really want anyone finding out about this."

"Ok, well then when did it happen? How long have you known?"

Rachel sighed sadly. "Look, honey, this whole thing has been really hard on me already and I just don't want to talk about it right now, ok?"

"Alright…" Phoebe agreed, turning around.

"Thank you."

A moment passed in complete silence, which Rachel quite surprising, but that changed quickly when Phoebe spun back around.

"Is it that guy you've been seeing?"

"Phoebe!"

"Wait, is it Ross? It's Ross isn't it?"

"No! It's not Ross!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Then it has to be Joey!"

"Phoebe please stop," she said, getting a little emotional in her voice. "I really don't want to talk about it."

"Ok, I'm sorry. I just really want to know more."

"And you will, once I can clear up some stuff and talk to the father," she responded.

"Alright, I won't bring it up again," Phoebe said.

"Thank you, I'd appreciate that."

Rachel let out a deep sigh. As long as it was only Phoebe who knew, it was fine. Now she just needed to figure out how to actually approach the other part of this whole mess.

Little did she know fate had other plans for her.

…

Sometime later, Monica had finished her dance with Chandler and had joined them at the table as the three girls talked about the wedding and how well it went. Throughout the conversation, Rachel noticed Phoebe shooting her looks from time to time but she did her best to ignore them. She couldn't blame her though; if she had found out that one of her friends were pregnant, she would be looking at them differently too.

"So Mon, now that you're married, what's next?" Phoebe asked, changing the topic of their conversation.

Monica thought for a moment. "Honestly I don't really know. Earlier I thought that maybe Chandler and I could consider having kids, but now I think I've changed my mind about that."

Her comment instantly got the attention of Rachel who quickly turned towards her. "What? What's wrong with having kids?"

"No, there's wrong about having kids. Rach, you of all people should know how much I love children," Monica responded. "No, I meant that I think it's still too early. I thought about it for a bit and the reality is, at this day and age, you have to really know what you're doing when you're having a kid, you know?"

"R-really?" she stammered as Phoebe looked on.

"Yeah, I mean first off think about the expenses. Babies are incredibly expensive, with the diapers, and the baby powder; the crib, the changing pad, the sling and audio monitor… it's a lot to manage financially."

"W-well it's not _that_ much, right?" she asked, a whole new wave of panic hitting her all at once.

"Maybe… if you're financially stable then sure, it wouldn't really seem that much," Monica answered. "But then you also have to manage your time too. Babies need attention. You can't be at work and leave your baby at home alone. You'd either have to juggle work and your baby, find a day-care center, which would add to the financial cost, or even leave work altogether."

"I don't know…" Rachel turned around, holding back tears as Monica's words rang true through her mind.

Silence passed by as Monica was thinking about the idea of having a baby while Rachel, who seemed on the edge of breaking down, tried to keep her emotions in check. Seeing her friend in such a vulnerable state, Phoebe jumped in, hoping to make it better.

"Well, you know it's not all that bad, right? I mean, it may be hard but it's still possible to do all those things."

"Yeah, it would be, but it would take a lot of time and dedication between the couple, you know? Like, I'm glad I have Chandler because now at least I can start to think about this kind of stuff, but imagine if you're single and plan on raising a baby alone? God, do you know how hard that will be?"

At that, Rachel couldn't help but let out a soft sob, looking away and dabbing her eyes with a napkin. She had been so overwhelmed with her unsolved issues with Ross that she hadn't even taken the time to think about the difficulties of having a baby. How was she going to raise this baby going forward? And even worse, what if Ross doesn't take her back? Would she have to raise this baby on her own?

Everything was just a mess. A complete mess.

"Rachel are you okay?" Monica asked, seeing her tearing up.

"Mmm-Hmm," she answered softly, trying her hardest to hold back tears. "I'm just thinking about… all those single moms out there, you know?"

Just then a waiter came and approached their table.

"Champagne?" he offered, lowering his plate to the girls.

"Oh, yes. Thank you," Rachel accepted as she looked for anything to distract her from this conversation. Grabbing a glass, she didn't even think before lifting it up to her mouth and that's when Phoebe's eyes widened.

"Rachel!" she panicked, holding her hands up to stop.

Rachel took a second to realise what she was doing and her eyes widened as well. She nervously looked at Phoebe, then Monica, then back to Phoebe before turning around and spitting the champagne back into the glass as nonchalantly as possible.

"What was that?" Monica asked, haven seen the entire thing.

"What was what?" Rachel asked, pretending to play dumb.

"That. That thing you just did. Why'd you spit out your champagne?"

"Um… uh…" She began to panic, unable to think of an excuse and turned to Phoebe for help.

"That's just how the French drink it," Phoebe jumped in. She took a sip of her own champagne and spat it out just as Rachel did. "See? It's very common."

But Monica saw right through their bluff and truthfully neither of them believed it would work. She was staring intently at Rachel and she could practically see the gears turn in her head until finally, the light bulb came on. Her mouth dropped open as her eyes widened to saucer plates.

"Oh… oh my God!"

All Rachel could do was squeeze her eyes shut, praying that this was just a dream, but of course, she knew it wasn't. Hesitantly, she opened her eyes and turned to confront Monica's shocked look, but before she could say anything Chandler came over, placing his hands on his wife's shoulders.

"Hey, what's going on over here?" he asked, but was surprised by Monica's astonished look. "Woah, what happened? You look like someone just told you they were pregnant or something."

At that, now both Rachel and Phoebe's mouths dropped open, and it took Chandler a second to take it all in.

"That was supposed to be a joke…" he said hesitantly, raising an eyebrow. "Wait, is someone actually pregnant?"

"Who's pregnant?" came Joey's voice out of nowhere, joining in on the conversation.

"Joey? Where did you come from?" Phoebe questioned, eyeing Rachel carefully.

"I was just right beside you guys when I heard you guys talking," he answered. "Someone's pregnant?"

"I don't know," Chandler said, pointing at the girls. "But judging by these facial expressions, I think someone is."

A moment later Rachel snapped back to reality and the first thing she did was panic and look around franticly to make sure Ross wasn't around.

"Ok, ok can everyone just shut up!" she yelled, her eyes scanning through the crowds of people as she got the rest of the group's attention. "I'll explain everything but please, don't say anything!"

"Wait, you're the one who's pregnant?" Chandler asked, him and Joey's eyes widening a bit.

"Rachel pregnant!" Monica blurt out in a yelling whisper.

"Guys!" she cried, her voice breaking a little under all the stress. Her eyes continued to scan through the room until she finally found him in a corner talking with his parents; a good distance away but still not enough for her to feel comfortable opening up to the rest of her friends.

Rachel closed her eyes, building up her courage, before standing up and leading the rest of the group to a segregated room from the reception hall. Finally, she took a deep breath, calming her nerves before turning around and confronting the awaiting looks of her friends.

"Ok, before any of you start asking questions…" She took another deep breath. "… Yes, I am pregnant."

"Woah," Joey said, a little baffled.

"That's… uh, that's pretty big," Chandler added.

"Rachel's pregnant!" Monica blurt out once again, clearly still in shock.

"And I already knew," Phoebe gloated, smiling cheerfully.

"What? How could you tell Phoebe before you told me?"

"I didn't tell Phoebe, she found out. Just like the rest of you!" Rachel explained. "I was going to tell you tomorrow because I didn't want to interrupt your wedding celebration and everything."

"Aww, honey that's so nice of you," Monica said, gently rubbing her friend's arm.

"Hold on, are you sure you're pregnant?" Chandler asked, jumping in.

"Yeah, he has a point," Phoebe added. "When I was pregnant with the triplets I had to take three tests just to make sure. How many tests have you taken?"

"Two," she answered. "The first one was a couple days ago, and I took another one this morning just to make sure. Both came out as positive."

"Wow, so you really are pregnant, huh?" Monica asked, and she nodded sadly. "How do you feel?"

"I don't know. I don't know how I feel. It's all happening so fast… and now there are these decisions I have to make and these things I have to consider…" she trailed off, beginning to tear up once again.

"Oh honey, it's going to be okay," Monica comforted, bringing her in for a light hug. "Whatever happens you know we'll all be right behind you, every step of the way."

"Yeah, Rach we'll always be here for you. You won't be alone going through this," Chandler added. Joey and Phoebe nodded in agreement.

Rachel dabbed her eyelids and smiled softly at the wonderful group of friends she had. "Thanks guys, thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me."

"Of course sweetie, you'll never be alone." Monica said, rubbing her arm.

"So…" Joey started, getting everyone's attention. "Who's the father?"

Rachel's smile disappeared and she looked at the ground, nervously shuffling her feet. "Well… that's the other thing…"

Suddenly Monica gasped and backed away, startling the rest of the group except her because she knew Monica already knew who the father was.

"Oh my God… is… is it _him_?"

She looked at Monica with tearful eyes and slowly nodded her head. Monica gasped again, raising a hand to her mouth.

"Wait, Monica knows who it is?" Phoebe questioned.

"Who is it?" Joey asked.

"Guys…"

"Is it that guy she's been sleeping with?" Phoebe asked, turning to Monica. She just bit her lip, refusing to say anything.

"Sorry Pheebs, but it's not my place to say."

"Rachel's been sleeping with someone?" Chandler turned to Joey. "Is it me or does it seem like we're always out of the loop?"

"Who is it?" Joey asked again.

Rachel sighed but before she could say anything else, she felt Monica touch her on the shoulder.

"Honey, it's your decision but I think you should tell them. There have been enough secrets and it'll only going to get worse if you don't open up to your friends."

She sighed again, but she knew Monica was right. Look where keeping secrets have gotten her too. She needed the help of her friends, especially when she couldn't get the help from the man she really needed it from.

"You're right Mon, you're right. I've had enough with keeping secrets."

Phoebe, Joey, and Chandler all leaned in closely, eagerly awaiting her response.

"So, who is it? Who's the father?"

Rachel took a deep breath, looking away to gather up her courage. As she did, her eyes traveled back to the reception hall where she spotted him talking with a blonde woman she had never seen before. For a moment, she felt a pang of jealousy that stung for a bit but she remembered what he had told her a few weeks ago. She was still his girl, and unless that changes going forward, she didn't have to worry about other women.

At least she hopes that doesn't change.

With a final sigh, she turned back to her friends and looked them in the eyes, showing them her true emotions and just how vulnerable she really was.

"It's Ross."

…

 **Author's Note: Wow, over two weeks! Sorry about the incredibly late update guys. I had wanted to give myself a few extra days to make sure this chapter aligned with the episodes, but I ended up using those days just to catch up on writing itself. I've been so busy lately, I even had to cram just to get this one out sooner rather than later.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed and here's hoping next chapter will take less time to write.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

"Ok, plane tickets… check! Hotel reservations… check! Passports… check! We're all good to go!" Monica zipped up her bag and threw it over her shoulder with a smile.

"So, we all ready for our honeymoon?" Chandler asked, coming up behind his new wife.

"Yup! We're all packed up. The only thing I couldn't find was your Speedo but I'm sure we can buy a new one in the Bahamas."

Chandler's eyes widened and he turned to the rest of the friends who were there to send them off, pulling at his collar nervously. "Hehe… Speedo? I don't… I don't own a _Speedo_. Just a… uh, regular… _long_ , bathing suit."

Monica rolled her eyes. "Of course you don't honey." She quietly turned ot the group, shaking her head as she mouthed a large 'no'.

"You guys excited? Honeymoon in the Bahamas? You guys are so lucky," Phoebe said.

"I know! A week in the nice, tropical weather? I couldn't ask for anything better," Monica answered, hugging Chandler around the torso. "Well, of course, it is better because I'm going with this guy."

"Aww shucks," he joked, earning a light slap on the stomach.

"God, I wish I could go to Bermuda," Rachel said, sighing. "With everything that's been happening, I sure could use a vacation to take my mind off things."

"Hold on, did you say you're going to Bermuda?" Joey jumped in. "Damn it, you guys are lucky! I wish I could go see some aliens."

Everyone looked at him with a puzzled look while Chandler face-palmed. "Joe, we're not going to the Bermuda Triangle. We're just going to the Bahamas, which is around the Bermuda area."

"What? Really? Then what's the point of going on this trip in the first place?"

Nobody bothered answering his question as they all just groaned. Just then the front door swung open and Ross strolled in, haven been the only member of the group not with them. Rachel spotted him and looked away, avoiding eye-contact as she still wasn't quite sure how to act around him.

"Hey!" Monica greeted when she saw her brother enter.

"Oh hey, you guys are still here? I thought you'd be leaving by now," he mentioned, giving his sister a hug.

"We're just about to. What are you doing here though? I thought you said you had a bunch of classes to teach."

"I do, but I wanted to send you guys off first. Have a great honeymoon!"

"Aww, you're so sweet. Thank you," Monica gushed, giving her brother another hug. He and Chandler also embraced as Rachel watched from the side, unable to keep her eyes of him. He's always been so caring of the people in his life and this sweet gesture only further proved that point. His sweet and kind-hearted attitude is one of the many things she fell in love with, and truthfully, one of the biggest things she's missed in this past month.

After breaking their embrace, Ross quickly checked his watch. "Crap, well that's all the time I have. I've got another lesson in ten minutes. I'll see you guys later."

Choruses of "bye"s and "see ya's" echoed through the room as everyone watched him leave, though no one's eyes were more attentive than Rachel's who watched him leave almost sadly.

"Bye…" she whispered, practically inaudibly, and this didn't go unnoticed by Monica.

For a moment, all was silent as the rest of the group reconvened while Monica carefully studied her body language. Her eyes were still on the door and she seemed to be almost slouched over, a position she had seen far too many times in the past month.

"Rachel…"

"Mmmhmm?"

"You haven't told him about the baby yet, have you?"

Rachel turned around and gulped, nervously playing around with the sleeve of her sweater. "Um… kind of… maybe… no."

"Rachel!"

"Wait, you haven't told him you're pregnant yet?" Chandler jumped in along with Phoebe and Joey.

"Rachel it's been over a week since you found out. You have to tell him soon," Phoebe added.

"Ok, ok, I get it," Rachel sighed. "But it's just… it's so complicated."

"We know. You've told us what happened," Chandler pointed out.

"Exactly! You all know what I have to deal with right now. We still haven't gotten over our own issues, how am I supposed to tell him that I'm pregnant with his baby?"

Monica reached over and touched Rachel's arm. "But Rach, you have to tell him. This is something you can't keep from him forever."

"I know…" Rachel looked down sadly. "I just wish there was an easier way to do it…"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I don't even know where we are right now, where our relationship is. It's been two weeks Mon, and he still hasn't given me an answer. I don't know if forgives me or not. I don't know if he even wants this baby. I don't know if he even wants to be… with me…"

Seeing her friend begin to tear up, Monica reached over and brought her in for a hug. "Honey, I get there are still a lot of question marks in the air, but you still have to tell him. And I know that no matter what you two are going through right now, Ross will always want to take care of you."

"Yeah, Ross would never abandon you and the baby," Joey added.

"But that's just it," she said, breaking her hug with Monica. "I don't want the reason for us getting back together to be because of the baby alone. I want to actually _be_ with him. I want to love him, and for him to love me, and for us to love this baby together."

"But he does love you Rach," Chandler cut-in. "He's loved you for the better, and worst, part of eight years. That doesn't change just because of one fight."

"I don't know... Honestly, right now it doesn't even feel like he's a friend. It's like we're almost strangers who just say 'hi' to each other once in a while. I just don't want it to seem like I'm making him be with me just because of this baby."

Monica sighed and checked her own watch. "Look Rach, regardless of what you decide, he has to know about this baby, ok? I don't want this to sound harsh but if you don't tell him before we get back, then I will. That's his baby too, he deserves to know about it."

Rachel looked at the ground sadly. "I just don't know if I can…"

Monica sighed again. "Well, you have a week to change that. Anyways Chandler and I have to go catch our flight. We'll see you guys later, alright?"

"Ok, have a good flight you two," Phoebe said, giving them both quick hugs.

"Yeah, have fun in Bermuda," Joey said, also giving them hugs.

Chandler laughed. "Thank Joe," he said before turning to Rachel. She gave him a small goodbye hug as he kissed her on the cheek. "Good luck Rach."

"Thanks," she mumbled, managing a weak smile.

After all the final goodbyes were made, Monica and Chandler grabbed their luggage and headed out the door, waving goodbye before shutting the door behind them, leaving the last three friends in their apartment.

Once the two newly-weds were gone Phoebe turned to Rachel, who was still keeping her eyes to the ground.

"Are you really not going to tell him about the baby?" she asked.

Rachel sighed. "I don't know Pheebs… I just don't know."

"But you know you _have_ to tell him, right?" Joey questioned.

"Yes, I know, and I will… eventually. I just… I just need some time to think this all through before I make a decision." Rachel looked up and looked at the door. "I think I'm going to go lie down for a bit, maybe call it a night."

"Ok, 'night Rach."

"See you tomorrow," Joey said.

She looked at them and gave them two small nods before quietly leaving out the door.

As soon as she left, Joey headed for the fridge to grab a bottle of beer while Phoebe looked over at him.

"Alright Joey, I think I have a plan to make them talk and to get her to tell him about the pregnancy," Phoebe proposed.

Joey raised an eyebrow. "Didn't she just say she wants some time to think about it?"

"Yeah, but her thinking about it could take days, maybe even weeks. Come on, it's Rachel, and it's Ross. If we don't do something they'll never talk and they'll never get together."

Joey thought about it, and eventually nodded his head. "Ok, good point. But what do we do?"

She smiled. "Oh, I know the perfect plan."

…

The next day Rachel climbed the staircase of her apartment slowly, reaching the top with a sigh and quietly making her way over to her door. Another tiring day at work went by with nothing else to do but to bathe in her thoughts and worries. Now that she was finally home she hoped she could soothe herself with a hot shower, maybe even a nice bubble bath, and then wait to see what Joey and Phoebe wanted to do later in the day.

Fumbling for her keys in her purse, she finally found them and inserted them into the door, swinging it open as she stepped into the apartment. She gently placed her purse on a nearby table and took off her jacket, moving to put it on a chair when she noticed something on the counter that caught her eye. She quickly put her jacket down and moved over to see what it was.

On the counter was a small single-folded piece of paper leaning against the answering machine, which just so happened to be blinking red, indicating there was a new message. Raising an eyebrow, Rachel cautiously lifted the paper, looking around to see if Joey was playing a prank on her or something, before slowly opening it and reading it.

 _Don't play the new message until someone comes bursting through the door._

Rachel raised an eyebrow at the strange message, looking around the apartment once again.

"Joey?" she called out, but no one answered. She looked back at the piece of paper, reading the message again and flipping it around to make sure she wasn't missing anything.

"What is going on?" she asked out loud.

…

Meanwhile down the street in a different apartment building, Ross also was returning home from work at around the same time. Unlocking his own door, he stepped into his nice cozy apartment, though it's felt almost dead for the past month, as he put his stuff down in the living room.

As he was taking off his jacket he saw that he had a new message on his machine and clicked the button to let it play as he hung up his coat.

 _*Beep*_

" _Ross, it's Joey! Come quick! There's an emergency over at my place and I need you to come over as soon as you can! Hurry!"_

 _*Beep*_

"Oh my God!" he exclaimed, his eyes widening. He quickly grabbed his jacket off the hook and he rushed out of his apartment towards Joey and Rachel's place.

…

Back in Rachel's apartment, she was still inspecting the strange message, wondering what any of it really means, when suddenly her front door burst open, causing her to jump, as Ross barged in, his eyes frantically scanning the apartment while he sported a worried look on his face.

"Ross?" she asked, feeling her heart beat quicken at his presence.

"Rachel what happened? Are you ok? Where's Joey?"

"Ross, what are you talking about? You're scaring me."

"The message Joey left on my machine," he explained, his eyes still scanning across the room. "He said there was some sort of emergency and he needed me to come over immediately."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I just got home and nothing's wrong, and Joey's not even here right now," she said.

"He's not?"

Rachel shook her head. "But I did find this weird message on my counter when I came in."

She handed him the paper and he raised an eyebrow, reading it out loud. " _Don't play the new message until someone comes bursting through the door._ "

"I guess you're the someone," she pointed out shyly.

Ross scratched his head. "I guess so." He handed the paper back to her. "I'm so confused right now. If nothing's happening, what was Joey talking about?"

Rachel looked at the message again. "I don't know, but the paper says to listen to the new message when someone comes in. You came in so I guess we… listen to the message?"

He shrugged. "Sure, go for it."

The two of them went on either side of the counter, leaning in to listen to the answering machine. As she pressed the button to play all unread messages, Rachel realised that they just had the longest conversation in weeks and now his face was inches away from hers. She couldn't help but look up slightly at the face she's missed for so long, getting a good glimpse of him before quickly looking back down before he could catch her. He had just shaven this morning, she could tell, because his 5 o'clock shadow was pretty apparent.

 _*Beep*_

" _Hey guys! It's Phoebe and Joey!"_

" _Wait, how come your name gets to go in front of mine?"_

" _Joey, it doesn't matter whose name is said first."_

" _I just think it should follow the alphabet. You know, because 'J' goes before 'P'."_

" _Ok fine, we'll change it. Hey guys! It's Joey and Phoebe!"_

" _See, that's so much better."_

" _No it's not. Now it seems like I'm saying I'm Joey and that you're Phoebe. If we say it like this then you have to say it then."_

" _Ok. Hey guys! It's Joey and Pho-"_

 _*Beep*_

Ross and Rachel shared a confused look as they looked at each other for a second, then turned back to the machine.

"Um… that was… interesting…"

Rachel laughed softly, the first in as long as she could remember. "Here, I'll play the second message."

 _*Beep*_

" _Joey, don't press that button again! That ends the message recording."_

" _Ok! I'm sorry! I don't know how to use this thing."_

" _But you own one of these."_

" _Yeah but I never figured out how to use it so I usually just let Rachel or Chandler answer the messages for me."_

" _Alright, anyways… hey guys! Joey and I just want to tell you that we decided to go on a small vacation and will be back at the end of the week."_

" _Yeah! We're going to Canada!"_

" _Yup! We would have invited you guys but we have to leave in a hurry and we didn't think you guys could get out of work in time, so we just left without you. We'll be back at around the same time Monica and Chandler get back from their honeymoon so don't worry about us too much!"_

" _We'll see you soon guys! See ya!"_

" _Bye!"_

"…"

" _Ok Joey, now you can press the button."_

" _I forgot which one. This one?"_

" _No, I think it's this big one right he-"_

 _*Beep*_

Rachel's mouth dropped open after the message ended as she realised what those two are trying to do. They left so it would leave her and Ross alone for a week and essentially forcing them to talk to each other. She couldn't believe her friends would do this to her. The things she was going to do to them when they got back…

"Wait, so they just got up and left on a vacation?" Ross asked.

Rachel quickly closed her mouth and gulped. Of course he wouldn't know what was going on. He doesn't even know the others know about them, nonetheless, about her pregnancy. He was clueless to all of this, which made the situation even more awkward for her.

"Um… uh, yeah I guess so," she stammered for a response.

"Huh… well, normally I'd say this is really surprising but its Joey and Phoebe, so it kind of makes sense. I guess it's just us the two of us for this week."

"Y-yeah, it is." She wasn't quite sure if he was fazed by this or not, or if he's just playing it off as no big deal. Either way, she liked how he was at least talking to her as she had come to miss his voice, especially when it is directed at her.

"Well, I got to go back to my place and do some marking. I'll see you around I guess."

She simply nodded, because that was all she could really do. "Y-yeah, see ya."

He gave her a nod before leaving out the front door, leaving her standing in the kitchen with the paper in her hands. She looked down at the message, now completely understanding its motives, and ripped it in half. Her friends just put her in an absolutely awful position. Not she _had_ to talk to him, and truthfully even though she was a little eager to do so, she also wasn't sure if she could talk normally around him knowing that he is the father of her baby. That's also not to mention that he's the man who's stolen her heart and holds the key to her happiness in his own decision.

With a sigh, Rachel tossed the shreds of paper on the counter and headed for the bathroom, now ready for a very long bubble bath.

This was going to be a long week.

…

 **Author's Note: Decided to throw in a little lighter of a chapter. I actually ended up splitting this one in two so expect the next chapter out soon.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Two days later, the door to a very familiar house swung open as a man and a woman walked out and into the streets. They both appeared to be in their early thirties, with the woman almost a head taller than the man, though he was far more bulky than she was.

"Ok, remember Joey, you can't let Ross or Rachel see us," Phoebe warned. "If they do then this whole plan is ruined."

Joey shuffled his feet. "Yeah, I know, but we haven't seen or talked to them in days! They're our friends Pheebs, can't we just go over and say a quick 'hi' or something?"

"No! If they realise that we never actually left New York then they won't talk to each other."

"Ok fine." He stuffed his hands into his pocket. "Then can we at least go grab a coffee at the coffee house?"

"What? No way. That's way too risky."

"Oh come on Pheebs, don't you miss Central Perk too?" Joey pestered. "Look, we can go and get a coffee, and if we see either Ross or Rachel around we'll leave."

"I don't know…"

"I know you want to…" he persisted.

Phoebe thought for a second longer before finally giving in. "Oh alright fine. But if we see them we leave _right away_. No ifs or buts."

"Yes ma'am!" he exclaimed cheerfully, leading the way towards the coffee shop.

Sometime later, Phoebe and Joey were sitting near the window with a cup of coffee in their hands. They were being cautious; haven bribed Gunther with a nice ten dollar bill to not say a word about them as they kept watch out the window.

"See? Isn't this nice Pheebs?" Joey asked.

"Yeah, I guess you were right." She took a sip of her coffee. "Hey, maybe we can-"

"Wait, isn't that Rachel?" he suddenly cut-in, pointing somewhere down the street.

Phoebe immediately spun around and sure enough, across the street they could see Rachel walking along with her head down and her hands stuffed into the pockets of her jacket.

"Do you think we should leave now?" Joey asked, putting his mug down.

"No, I think it's alright. It doesn't look like she's coming in."

The pair continued to watch Rachel walk along the street, noticing her stop at a newspaper stand, scanning through the titles before letting out a sigh and continuing on her walk.

"Does she look sad to you?"

"Yeah, a little bit," Joey nodded. "Where's Ross?"

Phoebe all of a sudden realised that too. "Hey wait, you're right. Where is Ross? It's late in the afternoon. We always hang out at around this time."

"Pheebs, I don't think your plan is working," Joey commented, straining to see out the window at where Rachel had gone. "I don't think they're talking to each other."

Phoebe snapped her fingers in frustration. "Damn… ok I know what to do to really give them a push. Do you still have your apartment key on you?"

Joey reached into his pocket and pulled it out. "Yeah, why?"

"And how much money do you have?" she added.

"Let's see…" he reached into his other pocket and pulled out a crumbled up twenty. "… Just this twenty I took from Chandler before he left, but I don't see how any of this is supposed to help."

She smiled. "Well, with my _amazing_ looks, persuasive talking, and a nice twenty dollar bribe, I think we might be able to convince a certain superintendent to change the lock on your door..."

Joey seemed to be lost in thought, probably trying to process it all. "Yeah... sorry Pheebs, I'm not following."

Phoebe just shook her head laughing. "Never mind, just follow me."

Standing up, the two of them left the coffee house to continue with the next part of Phoebe's master plan.

…

Later that day Rachel returned back to her apartment building after a long, meaningless walk. She's found herself incredibly bored these past few days, not being able to talk to the rest of her friends and not having the courage to go talk to Ross either. Instead she's taken long walks in the park or around the city just to kill time, and at the end of the day, she still came home with hours to spare.

She sighed as she approached her door. Though she was mad, part of her kind of wished Phoebe and Joey's plan actually did work. With only her and Ross left in New York, one would think that they'd be spending more time together, but instead they'd almost been avoiding each other. She hasn't seen him at all in the past day and the urge to talk to him and see him was stronger every hour away that went by. Of course, she still didn't know how to bring up the pregnancy thing, but truthfully she just wanted to hear his voice.

Grabbing her key, she inserted it into her lock but was surprised when it didn't even go in. She took it out and tried again, but the same thing happened. Confused, she brought the key up to inspect it, not seeing anything wrong with the piece of metal. She bent down and looked into the key hole, thinking that maybe something had gotten stuck inside, but still nothing seemed wrong with it.

She tried again, getting the same result as last time, before backing away and staring at her door with a confused look. Was she going crazy or something? Was this even her apartment?

Just then she heard whistling echo from the stairwell and a moment later she spotted Mr. Treeger strolling down the stairs, probably coming from fixing something on a higher level since he had his toolbox in his hand.

"Hey Mr. Treeger!" she called out, getting his attention. "Can you help me with something?"

"Oh, hey there Rachel. What's up?" he asked in his husky tone.

She pointed at the doorknob and lifted her key. "For whatever reason my key isn't working. Do you think something's wrong the lock?"

"Something's wrong with the lock?" he questioned, looking at the doorknob. "There better not be, I just replaced that an hour ago."

She paused. "Wait, _you_ changed the lock on my door?"

"Yeah, Joey told me he needed to get his lock changed because of some _personal matter_ and he asked me to change it before he got back from his vacation," Mr. Treeger explained.

"What? He didn't tell me that." Rachel turned to look at her new doorknob. "Well do you at least have a key for me?"

"Sorry Rachel, Joey took the only one. Once he gets back I can get it copied for you if you'd like."

Her face dropped. "So you're telling me I can't even get into my own home?"

Mr. Treeger shrugged. "Sorry, there's nothing I can do. I would offer to break down the door for you but I'd need the owner's consent, and since Joey has been living here longer I'd need his consent over yours."

Rachel's shoulders slumped and she handed him her old apartment key. "Oh alright, thanks anyways Mr. Treeger."

"Yup, let me know if you need anything else," he said.

"A place to stay for the next five days?"

He laughed. "You're a funny one Rachel. And here I thought Chandler was the jokester of your group."

With that, he left down the stairwell, leaving her staring aimlessly at her own door. If things couldn't get any worse; not only was she alone and pregnant, but now she can't even get into her own home. At this point, she wasn't sure if this was part of Phoebe and Joey's plan or if it was just a coincidence. With her luck, it was probably a bit of both.

Still staring at her locker door, and with nowhere left to go, there was only one place she could think of to ask for help, and it was both the first and last place she wanted to be.

…

Approaching the all too familiar door, Rachel held her breath as she slowly knocked three times, waiting for a response. She heard some shuffling on the other side of the door, trying to calm her heart as much as possible, and a moment later the wooden door swung open.

Ross' first expression on his face was surprised when he saw her standing outside his doorway, followed by a neutral look.

"Rachel?"

"Um… hi," she greeted softly, unsure how to start.

Ross scratched his head and cleared his throat. "Hi, uh… what are you doing here?"

Rachel shuffled his feet. "Well I'm sort of… kind of… locked out of my apartment."

He raised an eyebrow. "Locked out?"

"Yeah, it turns out Joey asked Mr. Treeger to change the lock before he left so now I can't get in until he comes back."

"Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. Do you have a place to stay?" he asked.

She nervously pulled at the sleeves of her jacket. "No. Um… I was going to ask if I could stay here for a little while…"

"Oh, yeah, of course you can," he said, moving aside to let her in. "Come on in."

"Thanks Ross, this really means a lot," she thanked, eyeing him carefully. She wasn't sure if he was just saying 'yes' to be polite or because he actually is ok with her staying over, but the least she could do was be appreciative.

"No problem, I'd help anybody who is in your position," he said, making her smile disappear. _Anybody_ he had said. She didn't want to be just _anybody_. "Here, let's go see if my guestroom is set-up."

"Ok."

She took off her jacket and hung it on an open coat, following him past the living room. As they did, she spotted a bottle of beer on the table and some basketball game playing on the TV.

"Were you watching a basketball game?" she asked, looking for any conversation starter.

"Yeah, I didn't have anything else to do so I thought I'd just turn on a little TV."

She flinched slightly as that hurt a bit. He'd rather watch TV alone than to find her and see if they wanted to do anything together. Just goes to show how disconnected they had become and further proves how hard this was going to be to tell him about the pregnancy.

Following him through the door leading to the bedrooms, they headed to the end of the hallway where the guest-room was located, and as they did they walked by his room. Rachel paused for a moment, staring at the closed door as Ross kept walking. This room held so many memories; so many unforgettable nights and so many wonderful mornings. She held each memory close to her heart and all of a sudden it dawned on her of how hard these next few days might be. Just knowing that he'd be only a few doors down from her, she could already feel the butterflies fluttering around in her stomach.

"Rachel?" she heard him call out and she quickly turned, meeting his questioning look. She immediately looked to the ground, blushing slightly, before walking over to him.

Ross opened the door to the dark room and flicked on the light, revealing a simple, undecorated guest bedroom. The bed was in the middle, with a couple of drawers and a table in one of the corners.

As Rachel's eyes scanned over her new place she felt a sense of familiarity and suddenly, she remembered the last time she had seen this room. It had been a while ago when she had almost moved in with him shortly after Chandler and Monica moved in together. Of course, that never ended up happening due to certain… complications, but she noticed that everything was still in the exact spot it had been before.

"Will this work?" he asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Huh, oh yeah, this is perfect. Thank you."

They looked at each other before Rachel quickly looked away, walking forward to place her purse on her new bed.

"Oh, crap," she said, suddenly realising something. "I don't have any clothes with me either."

"You still have some clothes here from before," Ross pointed out.

"Really? I totally forgot about that," she said, avoiding the reason _why_ she had forgotten about that.

He simply nodded. "They're just in my closet if you'd like to get them. I'll be in the living room if you need me."

"Ok."

She waited a few minutes after he had gone to really stop and let everything sink in. She was really going to stay with him; the love of her life and the father of her child, both things he had no idea of. Maybe this was her chance to tell him the truth. Perhaps if she tried re-connecting with him for the next few days, opening up to him may be easier than opening up now.

Yes, that was what she was going to do. No use in moping around about her situation, she was tired of doing that, and she meant it this time. After all, it always seems to just get worse, so why not take a chance and make the best of her situation? Honestly, at this point, what does she have to lose?

Gaining a little self-confidence, she let out a breath before finally leaving the room to retrieve her clothes. As she was about to enter his room, she looked over at the living room, stopping and staring at his figure sitting on the couch, drinking a bottle of beer as the basketball game played in front of him.

She could tell he wasn't too thrilled about this situation. Though he didn't say it or show any signs of not wanting her there, she knew him well enough to tell by the tone of his voice or the way he said specific things that he wasn't really comfortable with the idea of her staying with him for a bit. Even now, with his back turned towards her, she could tell just by the way he was sitting that he was deep in thought and not really paying attention to the game. No doubt, probably about her.

Turning away Rachel quietly entered his room, flickering on the lights as her eyes scanned over the bedroom that felt all too familiar, but at the same time, completely foreign to her. For the past year this room had been practically hers, and no doubt probably the place she's spent the most amount of time in. To her, this room would always be a special place of memory. Maybe in another time, this could be _their_ room, but for now it was only his.

Looking around a bit, she finally found the closet he had mention with her clothes neatly folded in the corner or hung on a hanger. She had to quietly thank her past self for being smart enough to store some clothes at his place, even if it was for different intentions. Some shirts, pants, a few dresses and skirts, and a pair of shoes; she should have enough to last her the next five days. If not, she could always go out and buy whatever she needed.

Picking up one of her shirts, she lifted it up to her nose and inhaled the scent, immediately picking up his smell through the fabric. The soft fragrance brought a small smile to her face as she remembered times when all she could smell was him all around her, and combined with hers, it created an unforgettable scent that held incredible memories.

After moving all her clothes back to her room and taking one last look into his, not knowing when the last time she'd step foot inside, she quietly made her way back into the living room where Ross was still seated on the couch, watching the game. She decided to try her luck, knowing that she'd have to start somewhere if she'd want the rest of the week to go the way she wants.

She cleared her throat. "Well, I'm all moved in technically."

Ross turned around momentarily before turning back around.

"That's great."

Rachel frowned slightly. That was a swing and a miss, but she decided to try a different approach. "Who's winning?" she asked, walking over to the couch.

"Nicks."

"Cool, mind if I watch?"

Ross shrugged and gestured unenthusiastically at the couch. Rachel quietly took a seat, leaving a small spot in between them. She noticed a pack of beer on the table in front of her and reached over to grab a bottle, popping open the cap and taking a small sip.

She sat back, glancing at him time to time as she tried to focus on the two teams playing against each other. There was a blue jersey team and a green jersey team, and not knowing much about sports, she struggled to determine which team were the Nicks and which weren't. For a moment, she stared at the screen, racking her brain as she tried to remember what colours Joey normally wears when he heads to basketball games, but she just couldn't remember. Instead, she took a 50-50 shot at it.

"Yes!" she exclaimed a moment later when the green team put up a basket.

Ross looked over with a confused, yet unimpressed look on his face. He shook his head and turned back to the TV. "Wrong team."

Her enthusiasm disappeared. "Oh."

"If you don't understand the game then don't watch it."

That was a little harsh, and she got the message. With a dejected look she sat back and sipped at her beer, looking around for something else to talk about.

Suddenly a low growl startled her and made him look back with a raised eyebrow. Blushing from embarrassment she placed her hands over her stomach, feeling her face warm up under his gaze.

"Guess I'm a little hungry," she shyly joked.

"Yeah, I can tell," he responded, though he kept his straight face. "You can order a pizza if you'd like."

"Ok," she said, truthfully a little relieved since she hadn't eaten since this afternoon. She jumped off the couch and grabbed the phone. "What do you want on the pizza?"

He shrugged, turning back to the game. "It doesn't matter to me."

She knew him enough to know that there are certain toppings that he likes and dislikes, and him not saying anything just further demonstrated the distance between them now. With a sigh, she ordered a simple pepperoni pizza and sat back down, waiting in silence.

Minutes went by, though to her it felt like the longest minutes of her life. There was a clear tension in the room that wasn't all that noticeable before, but now it was so thick that it could be cut with a knife. She had never felt more like a cast-away than at that moment, so when a knock sounded from the door she was the first to jump and answer it.

"Hi, someone order a pizza?" asked the delivery boy when she opened the door.

"That would be me." Rachel grabbed her purse and pulled out a twenty, handing it to the delivery boy. "Keep the change."

"Thanks," he smiled, handing her the pizza before leaving.

After he left Rachel closed the door and turned around, walking back to the couch. "Pizza's here," she announced.

"Cool."

She took a breath. "Do you want the first slice?"

"No, you go ahead," he answered, taking a sip of his beer.

Rachel silently took a seat and opened the pizza box, carefully grabbing a slice and taking a bite. As she ate, she carefully observed him in the corner of her eye, wondering what exactly was going through his mind. His eyes seemed to be invested in the game but she knew his mind was probably somewhere else.

Some more time passed in silence, that is, aside from the commentators voice blaring from the TV set. By this time she was already reaching for her third slice, though if she was to be honest, she really wasn't all that hungry anymore. All this tension has killed her appetite, along with her mood, and at this point she just wanted this day to end already.

After finishing the slice in her hand, she looked at his quiet form and sighed. "Here," she said, pushing the box over to his side of the table. "You can have the rest. I think I'm just going to go to bed. It's been a long day."

Ross turned to her and nodded. "Ok, goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Walking back to her room she let out a disappointed sigh. Today's attempt at reconciling was a failure, but at least technically it hasn't been the first day yet so she still had the rest of the week to work on bridging the gap between them.

One thing was clear however; this is not going to be easy.

…

To her disappointment, the week went by following the same pattern; her attempting to start up a conversation and his responding with a simple 'yeah' or 'ok', killing the conversation there. She had tried everything, from topics about work to his likings, but no matter what the topic was he just didn't seem to want to hold any kind of conversation with her at all.

She was beginning to get frustrated, but more importantly, she was beginning to lose hope. If he isn't even comfortable with talking to her normally, how is he going to be comfortable with raising a baby with her? Does he even want to be with her anymore? Is she just meant to end up alone? All these questions plagued her thoughts, and the more she thought about them the sadder she got, up until the point where she began to think that she'd be better off spending the week at a hotel rather than with him. At least at a hotel she wouldn't have to watch the love of her life pass her by everyday as if she was some random stranger off the street.

It was Friday afternoon and Rachel was beginning to panic. After an entire week, she had made no progress, still stuck in the exact same spot she had been since day one. Tomorrow was when everyone is supposed to come back which gave her today as her last opportunity to get through to him. There was no doubt in her mind that if Monica came home and found out she still hadn't told him about the baby, then she would do it instead, and that was the last thing she wanted to happen. It would make her seem weak and pathetic, and even worse, in his eyes it would seem like she was selfish and inconsiderate for not telling him about his child.

Rachel sighed and got out of her bed. She was tired of this, tired of playing the passive game. No, if today was the last day she had to keep her dignity then now was the time to act.

Walking out of her room and over to the living room, she spotted him sitting in the kitchen, quietly reading today's paper. She took a moment to calm her heart, gathering up her courage before taking her first steps towards the kitchen.

"Hey," she greeted when she entered the kitchen. He briefly looked up from his paper but soon turned back.

"Hi."

She forced a smile and sat down across from him, feeling her heart pound against her chest. Neither of them said anything for a moment, which made her even more nervous than before.

 _Break the ice Rachel. Break the ice_ , she thought to herself.

"So, anything interesting in the paper?" she asked, trying hard to steady her voice.

"No."

Another moment of silence passed through. Rachel cleared her throat and continued.

"Um, so what about work? How's the university?"

"It's fine."

"Oh, well what about-"

"You know what? I think I have some errands I've got to get done," he interrupted, folding his paper and standing up.

"Uh, Ross!" she exclaimed, finally letting her frustration get the better of her. "Can't you see I'm just trying to talk with you?"

"Well now is not the time," he answered without emotion.

"No!" she yelled, grabbing his arm and catching him by surprise. "Now is the time."

She heard him sigh, but he didn't turn around. Her expression softened and she looked at him with sad eyes.

"Ross, why do you do this?" she asked. "Why does it seem like we can't even hold a normal conversation anymore?"

He sighed again and ran a hand down his face. "Didn't I say I needed time?"

"Yes, and I said I'd wait for your response."

"Then why are you pestering me about this?" he questioned.

"Because it's been over three weeks!" Rachel exploded in sadness. "I told you I'd wait patiently but it's been almost a month Ross. I didn't expect us to completely stop talking with each other. This isn't what I wanted."

Ross let out a sigh of frustration and turned around, looking at her with a look of annoyance and maybe even a hint of anger. "Ok, do you know why I've tried to avoid conversation with you?"

She shook her head, not expecting him to be so direct.

"It's because I've been trying to see if I can live without you in my life."

That felt like a shot straight to her heart, and she could literally feel it shatter into a million pieces. "W-without me?" she asked, almost inaudibly.

"Yes," he confirmed, destroying what was left of her heart. "For so long you've been the center of my life, whether we were together or not. I needed to know if I could go on without everything resolving around you."

Tears threatened her eyes as she quickly tore herself away from him, unable to look at the man who's caused her so much pain. All her hopes and dreams, shattered in mere seconds. She no longer knew what to feel anymore. There was just so much pain, so much sadness, and so much built up frustration.

"Well that's just great!" she blurt out in a sad but angry tone.

The shakiness of her voice seemed to surprise him as his look softened, hearing her begin to sob quietly.

"You know what? That's fine!" she exclaimed before he could respond, spinning around and revealing her open tears. She pointed at him and jabbed her finger into his chest forcefully. "If you want to live without me, that's fine! Maybe you don't care about me anymore, or maybe you can't see how much this hurts me. Maybe you haven't seen how hard I've been trying to patch things up between us, because believe it or not I still have feelings for you! Maybe you don't need me in your life anymore but I still need you Ross!"

Ross opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He hadn't expected her to react like this, leaving all her emotions out there are tears streamed down her devastated face. For a moment his heart broke looking at this broken image of her in front of him.

Moments of silence were shared between them as all that could be heard were Rachel's soft tears. For her, she no longer cared. If this was going to be it for them, then she needed to let everything out. No more secrets, no more hidden feelings. No more anything.

"I'm pregnant."

As soon as she said those words, everything in the room fell silent. Ross' expression didn't change as he remained frozen; staring at her as if trying to figure out if what he heard was what she had said.

"What?"

"I'm pregnant," she repeated a little more forcefully. "And it's yours Ross, it's ours."

He continued to look at her with a shocked expression. "H-how did we… When did we…"

"That night."

" _That night_ ," he repeated, finally beginning to piece everything together. "I… I had no idea."

"Yeah, well it's not like it matters anyways," she shot back sadly, tears still rolling down her cheek. "You don't even want me in your life anymore so none of this even mattes."

Ross softened. "Look Rach, I-"

"No, I said it was fine!" she blurted, though it was clear in her voice that she didn't believe that. "I can't force you to love me Ross, nor can I make you raise this baby with me. You don't have to be involved at all if you want. If you don't want anything to do with this baby, that's fine. Just like if you don't want anything to do… with _me_ …"

"Rachel…"

She began to break down completely. "I mean, I can raise this baby on my own," she cried, tears streaming down her face as her voice shook with every breath. "I... I can do it. I can feed it… and change it… I… I can look after this baby and pay for everything. I-I can do it. I can raise this baby… alone…"

A sob escaped her mouth as Rachel quickly turned away, squeezing her eyes shut and letting her tears fall freely from her face. She had to accept the fact that she had lost the love of her life and she would have to raise this child alone. This was it.

Or so she thought, because as she bathed in her tears she didn't notice Ross slowly approach her from behind. As gentle as he could be, he tilted her chin back towards him and before she realised what was happening, he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

And that kiss was everything she had been looking for.

With tears still falling from her eyes, she poured everything she had into that kiss. She didn't need to know the reason for the kiss; she just knew she had missed his lips for far too long. She never wanted this moment to end, partially because she didn't know what would happen after, but mostly because when he kissed her it washed away all of her fears and worries.

Eventually his lips slowly separated from hers, leaving a soft, lingering feeling on her lips. She reached up and touched her lips as she slowly opened her eyes, meeting with his soft hazel eyes mere inches away.

"Rachel…" he whispered, affectionately wiping away her tears with the pad of his thumb. "...You will _never_ be alone."

She let out another sob. "B-but you said-"

"I know what I said," he jumped in. "I said I _tried_ living without you, but I never said I actually _can_ live without you. What this past month has taught me is that no matter what, I can never stop loving you. You've always been my everything Rachel, and you always will."

"Wh-what are you saying?"

"I'm saying… this." He slowly leaned in and kissed her again, this time much shorter but just as compassionate. "I would never let you go through this alone. I want to be there for the baby. I want to be there for _you_."

…

Sometime later the two of them were sitting on the couch in the living room, taking a few moments to collect themselves after everything that had happened. Ross looked over at Rachel and smiled, seeing that her lips curled up slightly in the corner of her mouth.

She was so beautiful, and so strong to be willing to raise their baby alone.

"May I?" he asked, gesturing towards her stomach.

Rachel looked down then quickly back up, nodding slightly as she gave him a small smile. He smiled back before gently placing a hand over her stomach. Though there was nothing there yet, just the thought of having his baby underneath there somewhere was enough to bring chills down his spine.

"I can't believe we're going to have a baby."

"I know," she replied softly.

Ross sighed. "Well, at least half of this baby was made from love."

Rachel paused after hearing his words. She realised he still didn't know about how she truly felt about him, and she knew it was time to finally let him know. No more secrets. She was done with keeping things in.

She slowly placed her hand over his that rested on her stomach, getting his attention and locking eyes.

"No, you're wrong."

"I'm wrong?"

She nodded, followed by a soft smile.

" _All_ of this baby was made from love."

…

 **Author's Note: Voila! Chapter complete! Wow, that was a long one to write.**

 **Well, this chapter is pretty much where my organiser ends. This story should come to a close soon, so now it's up to you. Do you want to see some chapters during Rachel's pregnancy phase or would you rather I just skip to the end and close off this story? If you'd rather the former, I'll warn you that those chapters will be eerily similar to the episodes since I really don't have many ideas planned. At the same time, I'm guessing a lot of you don't want this story to end so the latter may be a less popular choice, but hey, it's up to you. I'm ok with either, so be sure to leave a review letting me know what you want.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed. I'll see you next time.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

 **Author's note: In the previous chapter, Rachel** _ **definitely**_ **did not drink alcohol while she was pregnant. If you read that she drank 'beer', I recommend you get your eyes checked… (or I'm just incredibly stupid and accidently wrote that in). Don't drink while you're pregnant kids.**

"Oh, it's so great to be home!"

Chandler chuckled, wrapping an arm around his wife's waist as they mounted the final set of stairs. "It sure is, but I am going to miss our honeymoon."

Monica smiled. "Me too. It was so nice being out in the sun like that, and the beautiful ocean… who knows? Maybe we might be able to go back there for our one-year anniversary."

"If we can make it to one year," he joked, earning a slap on the arm. "Too soon?"

She laughed and shook her head. "Hey, by the way do you get the feeling that Greg and Jenny didn't really like us?"

"What? Why wouldn't they have liked us? I thought we were awesome people to hang out with."

"I know right. Your jokes were funny and on point."

"Yeah, and you asked all the right questions."

Monica nodded in agreement. "Well, that's their loss then. I guess it's time to return back to our non-coupled friends."

"Well, I wouldn't say all of them are non-coupled," Chandler pointed out.

"Oh right, I forgot about Ross and Rachel. Can they even be considered a couple?" she questioned.

"I would consider them one. What else would you label them as?"

"Two stubborn and stupid people."

Chandler laughed. "That's actually pretty accurate." He paused for a moment and thought of something. "Hey, you think Rachel finally told Ross about the pregnancy?"

"Well she better have. She had an entire week to do so," Monica responded.

"Ok, but say she hadn't told him yet. Would you actually go and tell Ross yourself?" he asked.

Monica crossed her arms. "Chandler I was serious about that. I get the whole drama between those two and how there are things that always keep them apart, but a baby is something else. He has a right to know; that baby belongs to him too."

"Then let's hope you won't have to step in," Chandler commented. "The last thing those two need is something else that will keep them apart."

Monica rolled her eyes and shook her head, walking forward down the hall towards her apartment door. She gently set her luggage down against the wall, reaching for the door knob but before she even touched it, a voice caught her attention.

"Monica? Is that you?"

She spun around and looked down the hallway, wondering who called her name. She looked up at Chandler and raised an eyebrow. "Did you hear that?"

He nodded but looked just as confused. "Yeah, but there's no one around. Maybe it's a ghost."

"Chandler? Is that you too?"

"Woah, hey, take her first!" he jumped, pushing Monica back into the hall. She turned around and gave him a glare.

Just then the door opposite to theirs swung open, and to their surprise, Phoebe and Joey walked out, both wearing heavy winter coats while pulling along a bag of luggage each. Monica and Chandler looked at them strangely.

"Hey guys! You're back!" Joey greeted, smiling from beneath his large hood.

"And so are you…?" Monica responded.

"Joey did you touch the thermostat again?" Chandler asked, eyeing their winter-wear.

Joey crossed his arms, almost in a pout. "No, you taped it up, remember?"

Monica rolled her eyes and turned to Phoebe. "What's with the get-up Pheebs?"

"We had to trick Ross and Rachel into thinking Joey and I left so they would talk to each other."

"So you chose to go to the Arctic?" Chandler questioned.

"No, Canada," Phoebe responded, making him turn and give Monica an exasperated look. "We'll explain later. Right now Ross and Rachel are waiting for you two inside, so go."

"Um… ok," Monica said as she and Chandler were ushered towards the door.

…

Meanwhile inside apartment 20, Ross and Rachel were sitting at the kitchen table, talking and munching on some crackers as they waited for Monica and Chandler to return from their trip. With their fingers intertwined over her stomach, Ross gently gave her a rub, earning a small smile.

For Rachel, it had felt like the weight of the world has been finally lifted from her shoulders. Ever since their talk yesterday everything had gone to exactly how she wanted it to be. Better even. No word could describe the joy and relief she had felt over the past day, and though there were still things they hadn't talked about, she honestly didn't care. She finally has him back and they're going to raise a baby together, and for now that's all she really wants.

"What do you think the guys are going to say when we tell them about the baby?" Ross asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

That's right; she had forgotten that he didn't know the others knew. She wasn't sure if she should tell him that they already knew, or if he should find out himself.

"Not sure, but they'll probably be really surprised," she smiled, deciding to not ruin this moment for him.

They made locked eyes and Rachel could feel her smile grow as the butterflies fluttered in her stomach. He smiled back and slowly leaned in, sweetly placing a soft kiss on her lips. They broke and she continued to stare into his gorgeous eyes, wondering how after all these years he still made her feel this way, and at that moment the front door burst opened.

"We're home!" Monica announced as she and Chandler stepped into the apartment.

"Welcome back!" Ross greeted, standing up to meet his sister in a hug. Rachel followed suite, giving Chandler a hug before embracing Monica as well.

"How was the honeymoon?"

"Oh, it was amazing!" Monica answered. "We had so much fun in the Bahamas."

"Really? What'd you guys do?" Ross asked.

Chandler raised a cautious eyebrow. "You really want me to answer that?"

He paused for a moment. "You know what? I'd rather you not."

"So, what did you guys do while we were gone?" Monica asked, though it was obvious she was directing that question towards Rachel.

She just smiled, which earned a confused look from Monica. "We'll tell you when the others arrive."

As if on cue, shortly after she mentioned them, the front door burst open and Phoebe and Joey entered, pulling along their luggage with them.

"We're back!"

"You guys miss us?" Joey asked with a smile.

Ross gave him a look. "Well maybe we would have if you told us where you went."

"What? Didn't you get our message?" Phoebe pointed out.

"All you told us was that you were going to Canada. That's an entire country, that doesn't tell us anything."

"Well sorry but our geography isn't as detailed as yours," she replied with a huff.

"Oh, that reminds me!" Rachel suddenly remembered, approaching Joey. Smiling, he was completely caught off guard when she punched him in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"That's for changing the key to the door and locking me out of me own home," she replied, punching him again.

"OW!"

"And that's for leaving without telling us."

"What? Why aren't you hitting Phoebe? It was her idea!" he complained.

She eyed her carefully. "Because she'd hit me back."

Phoebe nodded, expressing her agreement. "Smart move."

After the greetings were over and everyone settled down, Ross pulled Rachel aside and turned to the others.

"Hey guys," he started, getting their attention. "Rachel and I have something we'd like to tell you."

She nodded and smiled widely, taking his hand and leaning slightly into his arm. This was it; they were going to announce the baby. She wasn't sure why she was so nervous since the others already knew. Maybe it was the fact that they were announcing it together that her heart was beating so quickly.

"Which is…?" Chandler said, waiting for them to continue. She could see their eyes light up one by one as they waited for what they already knew.

"Well…" He gave her hand a squeeze and they locked eyes before turning to the others. "Rachel and I… we're going to have a baby!"

"Holy mother of God!"

"Oh my God, I can't believe it!"

"This is completely brand-new information!"

Rachel watched as the others attempt to act as if it were their first time hearing this and she had to hide a laugh due to their awful acting. Unfortunately Ross was not stupid and he quickly caught on as he looked at everyone strangely.

"…You guys already knew, didn't you?"

"Little bit," Chandler replied.

Ross turned towards Rachel. "You told them before me?"

She looked at the ground sheepishly. "Well it was more like they found out before I told you."

He sighed and shook his head, though he laughed it off afterwards. "Well, I guess they were bound to find out anyways," he said, making her let out a sigh of relief.

"So, how do you feel about this?" Monica asked cautiously.

"Honestly I was a little shocked at first…" He snaked an arm around Rachel's waist and looked down at her. "… but I think everything might work out fine."

Rachel blushed hard under his gaze and wrapped her own arms around his torso. She turned to the others with the biggest smile on her face. "We're raising it together!"

"Oh, I'm so happy for you guys!" Phoebe gushed, walking over and bringing the pair into a hug.

"Congratulations!" Monica joined in.

"Hey, don't forget about us!" Joey said, hurrying to join the group hug with Chandler following just behind.

"Hey! Hey! I've got a baby inside of me over here!" Rachel warned, laughing.

Everyone broke the hug and took a step back except Ross who kept his arm around her waist, not that she had a problem with that.

"Sorry, we forgot about that," Phoebe said with a smile.

"Hey I just thought of something," Chandler said, getting their attention. "Now that you two are going to raise this baby, are you going to move in together?"

Rachel and Ross looked at each other and shared a look. They hadn't discussed anything beyond today so this was a new idea to both of them.

"Um… we haven't really talked about that yet," she answered, unsure of how direct she wanted to be.

"I think it's a great idea," Phoebe jumped in.

"Me too," Monica added, voicing her own opinion. "I think if you're going to raise this baby together it'd make sense if you're living under the same roof."

Though she wanted to move in with him, she wasn't quite sure where he was at the moment so instead of saying something directly, she just kind of shuffled her feet. "I don't know…"

"I think we should do it."

His voice surprised her as she immediately shot up to look at him. "Really?"

He nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I mean you've already lived with me for the week and it does make sense for us to be in the same apartment. Plus, I don't want to miss anything like I did with Ben."

Rachel smiled widely, feeling her heart beat increase. "Ok, I'll move in with you."

"Hey wait a minute, what about me?" Joey interrupted. "I won't have a roommate anymore."

Chandler rolled his eyes. "Joe you're a grown man. You don't need a roommate to survive."

He crossed his arms. "Yeah well I'd still like to have one."

"Joey sweetie, it's not like I'm leaving town. I'll just be down the street," Rachel pointed out.

Joey sighed. "Ok, fine. Damn it, I wish I was having a baby." Everyone rolled their eyes.

"Actually speaking of the baby, we better start heading for the doctor's if we want to make our appointment," Ross pointed out, checking his watch.

"Oh right!" Rachel jumped, excited to finally see her baby. _Their_ baby. God it felt amazing to say that.

"Make sure you bring back a picture of the sonogram for us to look at!" Monica reminded as Ross grabbed their jackets.

"We will!" she responded, giving him a thankful smile as he helped her put on her jacket.

"We'll see you guys later," he waved, leading them out of the apartment.

"Bye! Have fun!" the group chorused, waving back before the two of them walked out the door, closing it behind them.

…

After about an hour of walking there, waiting patiently, and changing into the hospital gown, Rachel finally found herself sitting on the hospital table, eagerly awaiting the doctor's arrival. Ross was standing next to her, gently rubbing her arm and shoulder.

"You excited?" he asked, noticing the large smile on her face.

"Very," she beamed, feeling her legs begin to bounce from her impatience. "God, is it normal for me to be this excited?"

Ross laughed and placed a hand on her leg to calm it. "It's perfectly normal. I was as giddy as you back when Carol was taking her first sonogram."

That's right; he's already been through all of this. "Are you not excited about this exam then?" she asked.

"Are you kidding? I'd be as jumpy as you are if I didn't already know what's going to happen. This is the first time I'm doing this without two other women in the room with me."

She laughed, just as the doctor came into the room.

"Crap, I think I just jinxed it," he joked, making her hold in a second laugh.

"Am I interrupting?" the doctor asked, closing the door behind her.

"Oh no, Dr. Long, please come in," she welcomed.

"Ok, well then let's get started shall we?" Dr. Long said, walking over a cabinet. Grabbing something, she walked over to where Rachel was lying and lifted up her gown.

Rachel blushed for a moment, feeling Ross' eyes on her skin, before all of a sudden she felt something cold, yet soothing being rubbed on her stomach.

"Woah, what is that?" she asked.

"It's just a lubricant jelly that will help transmit the sound waves," Dr. Long explained. Wiping her hand, she then grabbed an ultrasound transducer and held it against her stomach. "Ok, everything looks good. Here it is on the screen."

The doctor pulled up an image on the computer as Ross and Rachel leaned in for a closer look. Rachel gave his hand a squeeze to which he squeezed back.

"There's your uterus…" Dr. Long said as she zoomed in. "…and right here… is your baby."

"Oh my God," Ross marveled.

"Wow," she awed, staring at the black and white image. "I see it."

"Congratulations," the doctor said, standing up. "I'll give you two a minute."

"Thank you," Ross smiled, watching Dr. Long leave the room. When he turned back he noticed Rachel covering her mouth and tearing up slightly.

He gave her hand another squeeze. "Pretty amazing, huh?"

A moment passed as they both looked at the image of their baby.

"I don't see it!" Rachel suddenly blurted out, tears beginning to show in her eyes.

"What? I thought you said you saw it?"

"I lied! I didn't want her to think I'm a terrible mother for not being able to see my own baby!" she cried.

"No, you're not a terrible mother," he comforted, pulling the computer forward. "Come here, look it's right there!"

"Oh," she said. "Oh, it's beautiful. I see it now."

Ross paused for a moment. "Do you really?"

"No I don't see it!" she cried again, covering her eyes to hide the tears.

"Ok, ok, come here," he said, removing her hand and wiping the tears from her eyes. He wrapped and arm around her shoulders and brought her closer to the computer screen. "Ok, you see this tiny thing that looks like a peanut?"

"Yeah."

"Sweetie, that's our baby," he said.

"That's our baby?" she asked, astounded. "Well I saw that!"

Staring at the small peanut shape on the screen, she let out a soft sigh. "Oh, I can't believe that's our baby." She turned to him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he smiled.

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before he gently leaned down and gave her a soft kiss. When they broke she smiled widely, thankful that he was here with her as her eyes glimmered as they looked at him.

He smiled again before turning back to the screen. "That's our baby."

"Yeah…" she whispered softly, those three words making her entire being shutter and her heart melt in her chest.

"That's out baby."

…

 **Author's Notes: Sorry guys, I really struggled with this one, and I mean** _ **really**_ **struggled. I had no ideas for this chapter so it made it incredibly difficult to just start writing.**

 **It seems the majority of you would like to see a few chapters of them during the baby process so I think I'll do a couple of those before I end things off. If you have any ideas or a specific episode you'd really like to see implemented, just leave a review. I have a few chapters to spare so I may be able to use a couple of your ideas.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

"So, today's the day, huh?"

Monica handed Rachel the cup of hot tea as she took a seat on the couch next to Phoebe. She thanked her with a smile and took a sip of the hot drink.

"Yeah, today's the day," she said afterwards.

"You nervous?" Phoebe asked.

Rachel gently placed the cup of tea on the table. "A little…" she fiddled with her thumbs for a bit. "… actually no, I'm really nervous."

"You think they'll be mad?" Monica asked hesitantly.

"My mom? Maybe… but my dad? Definitely yes."

What the girls are referring to is the fact that today is the day that she and Ross are going to tell her parents about the pregnancy. The two of them have been putting this off for the longest time but now that she was going to start showing soon, they knew they couldn't delay it any further.

"I'm sure Sandra won't take it too hard," Monica said, continuing off of what she had said.

"Oh, yeah, I think my mom will be surprised more than anything. It's my dad I'm worried about…"

"Then imagine it's like a bandage. Do it quick and it might not be as bad," Phoebe suggested.

Rachel shook her head. "I don't think that'll work in this situation Pheebs. You don't know my dad like I do. He used to flip out about every one of my boyfriends. God knows how mad he'll be when I tell him I'm pregnant, not to mention with Ross."

"He hates him that much?"

She nodded her head. "I think it's almost a hobby of his." She let out a groan and shook her head. "Oh, this is going to go so badly. Wait, what if I just don't tell him?"

"Not this again, Rachel you have to tell him," Monica said firmly.

"No, no, hear me out. What if I don't tell him now, and in a couple years I just let the baby tell him instead!" she exclaimed.

"What? You can't do that. Then he's going to get all mad at the baby and that's not fair," Phoebe said.

"Well that's… the baby's problem…"

"Rachel…" Monica said, staring her down.

"Uh, ok fine." She sunk down into her seat. "At least I'll have Ross with me…"

"Hey, by the way, how are things going between you two?" Phoebe asked.

Rachel smiled, finally moving onto a more likable subject. "Really good. Better than good actually, things have been amazing."

"So does that mean you two are a couple again?" Monica jumped in.

"Um…" she scratched the back of her head. "…uh, well not exactly."

"Uh oh, what do you mean by 'not exactly'?"

"Well I mean things are still a little complicated," she explained, thinking of how she was going to explain this. "We're together, I know that for sure. We kiss and we go out, all of that stuff, but we don't do the other stuff that couples would normally do, like share a room or… you know… have sex."

"So you're saying you guys are a couple, but without the extra perks of being a couple," Phoebe summarized, and she nodded. "That doesn't bother you?"

Rachel shook her head. "Maybe a little in the beginning, but honestly I'm not too bothered. I spent over a month without him and it was the worse time of my life, and now that we're back together and going to raise this baby together, that's all I care about."

Her two friends awed in unison and she let out a soft laugh.

"Look how far you've grown. I told you things would work out with the two of you," Monica said.

Rachel smiled. "Yeah, you were right. And you know, we both know we love each other so I'm sure things will change in the future. I think right now he's still kind of getting over everything and I'm totally ok with that, as long we're healing together."

Just then the front doors to the coffee house were pushed open and just the man on her mind walked in, spotting her and the others sitting around the coffee table and walking over to join them.

"Hey you," he greeted as he approached the armchair she was sitting in.

"Hey you," she smiled, earning a soft kiss on the lips. After they broke, she noticed the others smiling widely at the two of them.

"God, you two are too sweet," Phoebe commented and she laughed while Ross just raised an amused eyebrow.

"You ready to go?" he asked, turning back to her.

"Yup!" she exclaimed happily, finishing off her tea before standing up. He helped her put on her jacket and she kissed him on the cheek to thank him.

"Alright, we'll see you guys later. By the way, thanks for lending us the Porsche Mon," Ross said to the others sitting on the couch.

"No problem, anytime," Monica smiled.

"Good luck you guys," Phoebe waved as they walked towards the front doors. They waved back before Ross kindly held the door open for her and they stepped outside.

"You nervous?" she asked him as they walked towards the car.

"Absolutely, you?"

"I'm terribly nervous."

"Well then, it looks like we're in the same boat." He held out his arm for her. "Shall we?"

She smiled and hooked her arms through his.

"Let's."

…

The sound of the doorbell rang through the entire house as Ross and Rachel stood outside the large home, hearing the ring echo through the door. A moment later shuffling could be heard and immediately the door was swung open, revealing a smiling Sandra.

"Kids! You made it!" she welcomed cheerfully, opening the door wider for them to enter.

"Hey mom," Rachel smiled, giving her mother a hug.

"It's good to see you Sandra," Ross greeted, kissing her on the cheek. "How are you?"

"I'm good, and it's nice to see you too Ross," she responded, lightly tapping his cheek. "Please, come in."

The two of them shuffled along as they followed Sandra into her large living room. For Ross, he couldn't help but admire the size of the room. The house looked big on the outside, but it looked even bigger on the inside. Perks of marrying and divorcing a rich man, he assumed.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Rachel tugging on his arm, motioning him to sit next to her on the couch. He smiled and took a seat while Sandra sat on the couch on the other side of the coffee table.

"Would you kids like something to drink? I have some freshly brewed tea in the kitchen if you'd like," Sandra offered.

"Thanks, but we're fine mom," Rachel answered.

She nodded. "So, tell me dear, what's this big news you were telling me on the phone earlier? I have to admit, I'm curious to hear what's so important for you to tell me in person."

"Well…" Rachel grabbed Ross' hand and shuffled closer to him. "… actually this is news from the both of us."

Sandra raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Well what is it?"

Rachel looked to Ross who gave her a reassuring smile and she smiled back. She turned back to her mother and with a moment to gather her courage, she opened her mouth.

"I'm pregnant."

Immediately Sandra's eyes widened as they darted from her daughter to Ross, then back to her daughter. "Y-you're pregnant?"

Rachel flinched at her mother's reaction but Ross placed a hand over hers, telling her not to worry. "Yes it's true. Rachel is pregnant and we're going to have a baby."

"O-oh wow," was all she managed to say.

"You're not mad, are you?" Rachel asked hesitantly.

"No, no of course not. I'm shocked more than anything. I… I didn't even know you two were together," her mother stammered a little.

"We've been together for over a year now," she answered, deciding its best not to tell her about the events of the last few months.

"Well I sure didn't know that. How long have you known about the pregnancy?"

"We found out just about two months ago," Ross answered. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an image of the sonogram Rachel had done. "Here's an image of her sonogram if you'd like to see it."

Sandra took the image and examined it, a small smile slowly appearing on her face. "Wow, this is incredible. I can't believe my daughter's going to have a baby."

"So you're ok with it?" Rachel asked.

"Oh course I'm ok with it dear. Why wouldn't I be? I'm going to be a grandma!" She got up and crossed the distance between them, giving them both a hug. "Congratulations you two."

"Thank you Sandra," Ross said.

"Oh! I'm so glad you're not mad!" Rachel exclaimed, hugging her mother again. "I was so worried you weren't going to take it well."

"Well I was surprised at first, but now that I've had some time to take it in, I'm glad you're having this baby with someone like Ross instead of those other boys you go out with."

"Me too," Rachel smiled, locking eyes with Ross.

Sandra noticed this and turned to him. "I have to say Ross, I had my doubts about you before. Especially after you cheated on my daughter, I thought you were like all the other men out there but you proved me wrong over the years. I hope you treat my Rachel well and take care of her."

Ross smiled and snaked an arm around Rachel's waist, pulling her close. "I will Sandra, and don't worry, I intend to make it work this time."

"That's good," she said, smiling. "Then I wish the both of you the best of luck."

"Thanks mom," Rachel beamed, looking up and sharing a look with Ross.

"So, where are you kids headed next? You're welcome to stay here for dinner," her mother offered.

"Oh no, that's alright mom. We've got to meet with daddy now to tell him about the baby," Rachel said.

Sandra's smile went away and she raised a cautious eyebrow. "You're going to see your father?"

"Yeah, daddy has reservations to a restaurant just for today."

Her mother frowned. "I'd be carefully dear. Knowing you're father, he won't take this news as well as I have."

Her smile disappeared. "How angry do you think he'll be?"

Sandra thought for a moment, then pointed at Ross. "Are you bringing him with you?"

Rachel nodded and clutched onto his arm tighter. "Yes, I need to have Ross with me."

"Then I'd be prepared for an earful from him, for the both of you," Sandra warned, making Rachel gulp.

"We kind of expected that, which is why we came to tell you first," Ross said, scratching his head. "Do you have any tips for us for when we tell Dr. Green?"

"You said you'll be meeting him at a restaurant?" They both nodded. "Then you better make sure the food is flawless. If he's not angry at something else then he may go a little easier on you."

"Well that's pretty much impossible since daddy's always angry at something," Rachel muttered. "Thanks anyways mom. We should probably get going."

"Alright, let me walk you to the front."

Sandra led them both back to the front door where she held the door for them.

"Thanks for stopping by you two. Feel free to stop by anytime you'd like," Sandra said as she gave them both one last farewell hug.

"Sure, thanks again mom," Rachel smiled as she and Ross stepped outside.

"Take care of yourselves. Oh, and Rachel I'd love to be know about everything that happens with my grandchild."

"We'll keep in touch Sandra," Ross responded for her.

The three of them waved their goodbyes before Sandra closed the door and returned back into the house. As soon as the door shut, Rachel let out a sigh and rested her head against Ross' arm.

"Well, that was easier than I thought," he commented as they slowly made their way back to the car.

Rachel looked up at him with a serious look. "I wouldn't bank on that happening with daddy. He's going to go crazy."

"Then we'll face him together," he said sweetly, kissing her on the forehead.

Rachel managed a small smile but still kept thinking about what her father was going to say. Just the thought of his face turning all red and his thundering voice yelling at her scared the living hell out of her.

"Let's hope us facing him together is enough."

…

Walking into the busy restaurant, immediately Rachel spotted her father seated at their table, patiently waiting for them in one of the more segregated areas of the restaurant. In an instant, her heart began to pound in her chest and her hands began to shake from how nervous she was. She almost wanted to ask for them to be seated somewhere else where there were more people, but knowing her father's anger, that still probably wouldn't matter.

"Rach? Rachel you're shaking," Ross noticed, stopping and turning her towards him.

"Ross I… I don't want to do this. I'm too nervous and afraid of what he's going to say," she stammered, her fear showing in the tone of her voice.

"Hey, look at me," he said, gently lifting her chin so he could look into her blue eyes. "I know you're scared but I'll be right with you. I told you we'll face him together."

She took a deep breath and managed a smile. "Ok, thank you."

He smiled back. "You're welcome."

She smiled again and leaned forward on her toes to kiss him softly on the lips. She'd need it to build up her courage. "You're not nervous?" she asked afterwards.

"Oh no, I'm terrified right now. You're dad's intimidating."

She giggled softly and slapped him on the arm, before taking his hand and heading towards their table. When they were finally inches away, she took a deep breath and let go of his hand.

"Hey daddy."

At the sound of her voice, her father turned around, smiling as soon as he saw her.

"Hey sweet pea, how are you?" he asked as he pulled her in for a hug.

"I'm doing well."

Dr. Green smiled again. "That's good. That's good to hear."

Meanwhile Ross, who stood off to the side awkwardly, decided that he should probably greet her father as well. "Hello Dr. Green, it's nice to see you again," he greeted, offering his hand.

Almost as if he didn't notice he was there, Dr. Green turned and just looked from his hand to his face and gave him an annoyed look. "I didn't know gel boy was joining us tonight."

"Daddy stop calling him that, and I told you Ross would be coming," Rachel said, standing up for him.

Her father just let out something on the lines of a grunt and took a seat. Ross lowered his hand and gave Rachel a look and she frowned, displaying her own discomfort before they took their seats at the table.

A moment later the three of them were looking over the menu as they waited for their waiter to arrive.

"So, baby, tell me," Dr Green started, putting down his menu and turning to his daughter. "What is new with you?"

Rachel slowly put down her own menu, shooting Ross a panicked look. He gave her a reassuring look in return and squeezed her hand underneath the table. Gathering up her courage, Rachel turned back to her father and opened her mouth, but just as she did their waiter appeared, clearing his throat.

"Ahem, your _Seventy-Four_ _Lafite_ , sir," the waiter announced, holding up the bottle of the wine.

"Seventy-Four? I ordered the Seventy-Five. That's a magnificent wine. The Seventy-Four is sewage." Dr. Green looked up at the waiter with disgust. "Why would you bring me sewage?"

The waiter opened his mouth to respond but apparently he was a second too late as he was immediately cut off.

"Is that a hard question? Are you an idiot? Is that why you're a waiter?"

"This is why I told the manager I didn't want to wait on you tonight!" the poor guy blurted out, immediately heading back to the kitchen.

"Oh don't be such a baby!" Dr. Green yelled, following him.

As soon as he was gone Rachel turned to Ross with a panicked and afraid look. "Ross this was such a mistake. I can't tell him, I just can't."

"Rachel…"

"No, it's ok. This is what we're going to do. We're going to grab our things and just go home, and we'll send him an email or something," she said, beginning to stand up.

Before she could move any further Ross grabbed her arm. "Rach, you know we have to tell him."

She pouted sadly and sunk down in her chair, leaning on his arm. "Then can you tell him for me?" she whined, begging him with her eyes.

"You know I can't do that either. It'll only make it worse."

Rachel groaned and sat back as he gently rubbed her hand. She knew she had to tell her father, but she was just so afraid of being yelled at. Her father is a scary man, especially when he's angry.

A minute later Dr. Green returned to his seat and Rachel gathered up her courage once more.

"Is, uh, everything ok with the waiter?" Ross asked, trying to ease the conversation forward.

"I have no idea, I went to the bathroom." He turned to his daughter. "So, sweetie, you were saying… what are you up to these days?"

"Well, um…" Her leg began to shake under the table. She quickly placed a hand to stop the shaking, only to realise her hand was shaking as well. "...uh… nothing much. Nothing's really… uh, new."

She felt Ross squeeze her hand again and she gulped.

"Well that's hard to believe. You mean to tell me you've gone a whole year without anything new come up in your life?" her father asked.

Knowing that she was running out of time to stall, Rachel took a deep breath and looked her father in the eyes. "Well… uh, there is this one small thing."

"Really? What is it?"

"Um…" Her eyes darted to Ross for help but he just nodded, telling her to go on. She took another breath before continuing. "Well… I sort of… maybe… might be… pregnant…?"

"What?!" he exploded, making her flinch and squeeze Ross' hand as hard as she could. "Is this some kind of joke? Are you really pregnant?"

"… Yes…" she said in a quiet, almost inaudible voice.

"Rachel Karen Green! How can you be so irresponsible?! Not to mention reckless and foolish!" Dr. Green yelled, making his daughter flinch back.

"Daddy, can you please keep your voice down…?" she asked softly, looking around at the eyes staring at them from other tables.

Ignoring her, he went on. "Well? Who is the father?"

"Um… well… it's…" her frightened eyes darted to Ross' unintentionally, and her father picked this up.

"No, oh no," he said, finally seeing the bigger picture. He stared at Ross with ice cold eyes. "You're telling me _he_ 's the father?"

"Yes," Ross spoke up, taking some heat away from Rachel. "I am the father."

"I can't believe this! Rachel, how can you even consider getting back together with this _punk_ after what he did to you? He broke your heart and cheated on you! How can you even give this dirt bag another chance?"

"Daddy!"

Seeing that Rachel was beginning to break down, Ross took it upon himself to step up and face her father. "Look Dr. Green, I know I've made mistakes in the past. I know I hurt her and that I can never go back and fix those mistakes, but I truly do love your daughter. And whether you accept it or not, I will always care for her and take care of her, and I will do the same for when our baby is born."

Rachel smiled at Ross' words and used it to boost her own courage. "I love him daddy," she said, leaning over and wrapping herself around his arm. He smiled down at her and she smiled back, before turning to her father. "I love him and I forgive him for what happened in the past, so why can't you? We're going to have this baby together, whether you like it or not."

As reluctant as someone can possibly be, her father finally gave in. "Fine, have it your way Rachel, but don't come crying to me once he breaks your heart again."

"I promise you Dr. Green that I will never let that happen again," Ross defended himself.

The man simply rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Whatever, so when is the wedding?"

Both Ross and Rachel froze at his question and looked at each other awkwardly.

"Um… we, uh… we haven't really talked about that…" Rachel hesitated, already knowing where this will go.

"The wedding? You mean to tell me there's not going to be a wedding?" he questioned forcefully. "Young lady, don't you sit there and tell me my first grandchild is going to be a bastard!"

"I… we…" she stammered, unable to let out the proper words to diffuse the situation. Instead Ross placed a hand on her leg and spoke for her.

"No Dr. Green, there isn't going to be a wedding."

"Oh, so what? You knock up my daughter but you won't marry her?" he fumed. "This is completely unacceptable! So not only is my grandchild going to be this sorry-excuse-for-a-man's child, but it's going to be illegitimate too?! Well this is just great! My grandchild's going to be born inferior!"

"That's enough!" Ross shouted, standing up and surprising both Rachel and her father. "Dr. Green, you can insult me and talk bad about me as much as you want, but you may _not_ talk poorly of our baby! Now I don't care about the technicality behind it all because this baby, who, mind you, is also _your_ grandchild, is legitimate. Whether Rachel and I get married or not, this child will still grow up in a loving family and live a proper life, so you can either support your daughter and I, as well as your grandchild, or you can choose to have nothing to do with us and the baby."

Rachel looked at him with eyes full of love as he sat back down, leaving her father completely dumbfounded. How did she find such an amazing man to be with? And to think she almost lost all of this just a few months ago. She knew at that moment that she'd never love another man as much as she loved him, and that their baby truly would be born into a loving family, raised by a father who will do anything for it, and its mother.

When he sat down, he let out a deep breath and she smiled. Reaching over, she took his face in her hands and placed a soft, yet passionate kiss on his lips, leaving him with a smile afterwards.

"Wow," Dr Green said some time later, surprising them both with the smile on his face. "I may have been wrong about you Geller. It takes a lot of guts to stand up to me like that. Maybe you are the right man to be with my daughter."

"Um… uh, thank you sir," he responded, a little flustered as he was not expecting a compliment in return.

"But don't you ever talk back to me again," he added, and Ross nodded his head.

"So, you're ok with all of this?" Rachel asked hesitantly.

Her father sighed. "Well it's not like I have a choice, but you two do seem to know what you're doing so I will no longer stand in your way. Sweet pea, if you ever need anything just let me know, and I would also love to support my future grandchild, if that is alright with you."

Rachel and Ross shared a look before they turned to him with a smile. "Of course you can Dr. Green."

"In that case, I would like to congratulate the both of you," Dr. Green smiled, something that was quite rare to see. "Now let's eat. Where's that damn waiter?"

…

Later that night Ross and Rachel returned back to their apartment, tired and fully stuffed from the large amount of food Dr. Green had ordered. Rachel sweetly looked up at him when he helped her with her jacket, before slowly trudging over to the couch and collapsing on her back.

"God, what a night," she exasperated, stretching herself out along the couch.

"I know what you mean," Ross said, sitting down next to her and gently cradling her head in his lap. "At least it's over now."

"Yeah…"

She closed her eyes as she enjoyed the feeling of his soft hands running through her hair and gently stroking her cheek. When she felt his soft lift make contact with hers, she couldn't help but smile and kiss him back, before sitting up and turning to face him.

"You were amazing today, you know that?"

"Really? How so?" he asked, making her giggle at his confusion.

"I mean the way you handled my father and stood up for our baby, that was incredible," she explained, giving him a soft smile.

"Oh that?" he recounted, smiling back. "Yeah, that was impressive wasn't it? I thought he was going to jump up and strangle me afterwards." Rachel giggled again and he looked her in the eyes. "I didn't just stand up to your father for our baby though. I did it for you, for us."

His words melted her heart and she cupped his face in her hands. "You're too sweet, you know that?"

"Well now I do," he joked.

She smiled into his eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too," he smiled back before meeting halfway in a passionate kiss. After they broke they kept their faces mere inches apart, with their noses touching slightly and their eyes glued to each others.

"So what's next? We tell your parents?" Rachel asked, moving do rest her head against his shoulder.

"Actually they already know. Apparently Monica told them before I even knew about the pregnancy," he answered, making her laugh.

"Well we probably should have seen that one coming, huh?"

"Yeah, probably," he laughed, moving a hand to rest on her stomach.

For a couple minutes, the two of them remained rested against each other, with their fingers intertwined over her stomach.

"Ross, can I ask you something?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"Of course."

"Well it kind of has something to do with what my dad said today."

"You mean the part about the whole marriage thing?" he mentioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Kind of, but not exactly. I'm just curious; where… um, where exactly are we right now?" she asked hesitantly.

"Well…" he started, scratching his head. "I guess we're wherever you think you want us to be."

"But I want to know where _you_ want to be," she countered.

Ross looked down. "Honestly, I don't know. I mean, I love you Rachel, I really do, but it's still kind of complicated with what happened before."

She nodded. "Is that why we aren't sharing a room or… you know… having sex?"

"Yeah…" He turned to her with remorseful eyes. "I'm sorry if this isn't how you expected things to be, but a part of me still isn't completely healed over what had happened. I-"

"Ross, stop right there," she said, placing a finger over his mouth before he could continue. "I completely understand and it doesn't bother me. I told you before, I will wait for you to heal because I had to go through that myself and I know how long it takes. I just don't want us apart again because I can't take that anymore, so I'll wait until you're ready to move forward."

Ross smiled. "Thank you."

"Of course honey. I love you too much for this to go badly again." She smiled into his eyes before snuggling up against him once more.

"Do you want to share a room?"

She perked at his question and lifted her head, looking at him with a questioning glance. "What?"

"I said do you want to share a room with me?" he asked, almost in an amusing tone.

She wasn't quite sure how to answer. Didn't he just ask for time to heal? "Um… well… it would be nice… but I told you I-"

He silenced her with his finger and smiled. "Rachel Karen Green, will you share a room with me?"

She let out a soft laugh and looked into his eyes with love and longing. "I would love to share a room with you."

Ross smiled and leaned down, kissing her passionately and deeply. Afterwards he stood up and picked her up off the couch, surprising her and making her giggle.

"Would the lady like to head to bed?"

She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head against his shoulder. "She would, but only if you come with her."

Holding her in his arms, Ross headed for their 'new' bedroom together, putting an end to the first of many eventful days.

…

 **Author's Note: Your suggestions have been heard! I would like to thank everyone for leaving their ideas and what they'd like to see in future chapters. I received some really good ones and you can be sure that you'll see them in the coming chapters. Unfortunately I won't be able to fit in all of the suggestions you guys left, but I'll try to implement some of the more popular ones.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed. Take care.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

"Rachel, hurry up or we're going to be late!"

Ross tapped his foot and slowly paced around his living room, glancing at his watch from time to time. Tonight was Thanksgiving night and he had told Monica that he and Rachel would be there on time, especially since they were expecting a guest today, but with Rachel still not ready yet, he may as well start preparing for an earful. He probably should have expected that she'd take forever to get changed, not to mention the pregnancy, but even then, this was getting to be ridiculous.

"Rachel!" he called out again, getting a little frustrated with her tardiness.

A few moments passed by without a response and just as he was about to go check on her to see what was taking so long, he heard shuffling come from their bedroom.

"Ok, ok, I'm ready!" he heard her say.

"Thank God," he mumbled, turning around to grab their jackets off the hook as he heard her emerge behind him. "Alright, let's go."

"Hold on, how do I look?"

Exasperated, Ross spun around to face her, but when his eyes landed on her outfit they immediately widened as his mouth dropped open in shock and disbelief.

Standing in front of him was Rachel, leaning against the doorframe as if she was striking a pose. The first thing his eyes noticed was that her small bump was showing slightly beneath her shirt, though that was the least of his worries. Her tight black leggings showing off her slender legs led up to an incredibly short skirt, leaving very little to the imagination. On top, the _very_ revealing blouse she was wearing left her cleavage practically completely exposed, almost to the point where even he felt a little uncomfortable. Out of all the possible outfits he could have guessed, this was the last one that would have come to mind.

"Wh-what are you wearing?" he stuttered, still dumbfounded by her clothes.

Rachel pouted. "You don't like it?" she asked in an almost sultry tone as she slowly sauntered towards him.

The fact that she didn't seem to be affected by her outfit baffled him further. "You don't see what's wrong with it?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and softly played with the back of his hair, looking into his eyes with a strange hunger. "I wore this for you. I thought you'd like it."

"Well… I mean, I-"

He didn't get to finish as he was cut-off by her lips pressing hard into his, kissing him furiously and passionately. For a second he forgot where he was and began to kiss her back, even deepening the kiss after he felt her tongue begging for entrance into his mouth. Moments later, however, Ross realised that things were escalating far too quickly and immediately broke the kiss, pushing her back slightly.

"Aww, why'd you stop?" she pouted again.

"Rach, this is not the time for that right now," he said, quickly glancing at his watch. "Ok, you need to get changed and we need to go. We're already late."

She didn't budge, however, and just stood there smiling at him. "Well if we're going to be late anyways…" Slowly she approached him again and before he knew it, her lips were brushing against his once again.

"Rachel, that's enough," he said, a little more firmly this time. He pushed her away slightly, but not enough for her to separate herself from him.

"Oh come on Ross, we'll be quick…" she whispered sensually, closing her eyes and running her hands on his chest.

Her words ran through his head and all of a sudden, he realised what she was referring to. Eyes widened, Ross took a step back, looking at the ground and scratching the back of his head.

"Rach I… I thought I already told you how I felt about that…"

Now it was Rachel's eyes that widened as she realised her slip up, backing up. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to say that I'm…" She immediately covered her mouth and turned around as tears began to appear in her eyes. "I… I'm so stupid! I… I…"

"Shh, shh, it's ok. I know you didn't mean it," he said softly, pushing aside his confusion to comfort her as he pulled her into a hug. He felt her tug back and wipe her tears on his chest, kissing her on the forehead. "Sweetie, what's going on?"

She sniffled and looked up at him. "I-I don't know. Earlier I was just so… horny, and now I'm all depressed. All day these feelings have been coming and going and I don't know what's happening," her voice shook, clearly shaken up by everything. "Do you think there's something wrong with me?"

Ross thought for a moment. "Hold on, aren't you in your fourth month of pregnancy?"

She nodded. "Yeah, around there, but what does that have to do with anything?"

Suddenly he smiled and let out a small chuckle, confusing her more. "Sweetie, there's nothing wrong with you. This is perfectly normal."

"Really?"

He smiled and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Yes. Right now, you're hormones are going crazy so you'll have lots of mood swings. This all usually comes at around the fourth month of pregnancy."

"What about my horniness?" she asked.

"That's normal too," he laughed at her shyness. "When Carol was pregnant she went through the same thing, although that's just what I heard from Susan."

Rachel let out a breath of air as she felt relieved to know that something was wrong with her. She timidly looked up at him and smiled. "So… what now?"

"Well... we still have that Thanksgiving dinner to get to…" Ross glanced at his watch. "We're late but I'm sure Monica will understand. Do you think you can handle going?"

She thought about it for a moment but eventually nodded her head. "I think so."

"Ok, then go get changed and we'll leave," he said, giving her a light push back towards the bedrooms. Rachel gave him another shy nod and quickly headed back to change while he stood in the living room, letting out a breath of his own.

This was going to be one interesting night.

…

A knock sounded through the apartment before the door swung open and Ross and Rachel made their entrance. Before either of them could greet anyone however, they were immediately met by the ice cold eyes of Monica.

"You're late," she growled through gritted teeth.

Ross opened his mouth to answer but Rachel got there first. "We're so sorry Mon but don't blame Ross, it was my fault. I'll tell you why in a bit."

Monica shook her head at the two of them but let it pass, for now. She turned to Ross and motioned to someone standing near the couches, watching the game with Chandler, Joey and Phoebe. "Look who's here."

"Will!" Ross immediately exclaimed, recognising his high school friend anywhere. The stranger turned around and instantly a smile appeared on his face as well.

"Ross! Long time no see!" Will smiled as he approached him, the two clasping hands.

"Man, you look incredible!" he complimented, remembering how fat he used to be. "I didn't know you would be our guest today."

"Yeah, well I was here on business and ended up running into Monica, and she invited me over."

"That's great! Man, we have to catch up," Ross said as the two old friends conversed about what they've done over the past few years.

Meanwhile Rachel stood by the counter, watching her boyfriend talk to this stranger, who, if she was to be honest, was quite handsome. Perhaps it was her hormones kicking in but the stranger looked incredibly attractive to her, though she couldn't quite remember him.

"Wow, Monica who is that?" she asked her friend who was standing next to her.

"That's Will, from high school! Remember? He and I used to be close and he was in Ross' class," Monica explained.

She thought about it again. "Nope, I don't remember him." She looked over at the two men and saw him giving her a look. "But wow, he's really got that sexy smoldering thing going."

"Well you better not do anything about it," Monica warned in a low voice.

"No! Of course not!" Rachel exclaimed, a little bit offended. Will may be attractive but it wasn't enough to make her throw away the best thing that's ever happened to her.

Monica raised her hands. "Just checking." She then crossed her arms and looked at her straight. "So tell me, why exactly were you guys late today?"

Rachel scratched her head and looked down shyly. "Well… um, it's kind of embarrassing."

"What's embarrassing?"

The two women looked over to see Phoebe join in the conversation.

"Apparently her reason for being late today is," Monica pointed.

"So what happened?" Phoebe asked, now intrigued.

"Well I guess it kind of started this morning and all day I've just been feeling incredibly… um, well incredibly horny, so uh, just now right before we were about to leave, I wasn't thinking straight and ended up dressing up and trying to seduce Ross," she explained, her face turning red from her embarrassment.

Phoebe and Monica looked at each other and shared a laughing look.

"Ohhh, the Evander Holyfield phase!"

"What's that?" Rachel asked.

"Back when I was pregnant, I went through the exact same thing," Phoebe explained. "Yeah, I remember trying to steal a cardboard cut-out of Evander Holyfield from a Footlocker because I was so turned on by it, hence the name."

Her eyes widened. "Ross said that at around the fourth month of pregnancy my hormones start going wild, but I didn't know it would be that wild."

"Oh no, you should be fine," Phoebe responded immediately. "Keep in mind I was having triplets at the time, so in medical terms I was _thrice_ as randy."

Monica rolled her eyes as Rachel laughed. "Ok, so how did you get passed this phase?"

Phoebe raised an eyebrow and looked at her strangely. "Isn't it obvious?"

Confused, Rachel shook her head.

"Sex!"

Immediately her face dropped. "Oh... that might be a problem…"

Her two friends looked at her concerned. "Wait… are you guys still not having sex?" Monica questioned slowly.

Rachel hesitantly shook her head. "No… but-"

"What? I can't believe he's still holding out on you," Phoebe cut her off, turning to Monica. "Maybe we should go have a talk with him."

"No!" Rachel interrupted, grabbing both their arms. "He's not ready yet, I can still see it. I don't want to force him into doing anything."

"But Rach, you're going to suffer if you don't have sex at all, especially in these coming months," Phoebe further pursued.

"I don't care," she said, standing firm. "Right now our relationship is healthy and we're healing together. I don't want to ruin anything just because I'm feeling horny."

"You sure?" Monica asked, concerned.

"Yes, nothing's worth losing him again." Rachel turned to look at Ross across the room, mesmerised by how handsome he looked. "Absolutely nothing…"

Back on the other side, Ross was busy telling Will about what he's been up to recently when he realised his friend wasn't really paying attention, almost as if something had caught his eye.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked.

"Hmm?" he snapped. "Yeah, no I'm just wondering, is that _Rachel Green_?"

Ross looked over and immediately his eyes widened. "Uh oh," he muttered to himself, remembering how much Will hated her back in high school, which leaves him in very tough situation. He turned back to Will. "Um… yeah, that's Rachel. She's… uh, part of our friend group."

Will clenched his teeth and squeezed his hand into a fist. "I don't know if I'm going to be ok Ross. God, I just… I hate her, Ross, I hate her!"

He immediately grabbed his friend's hand to calm him down. "Will, high school was a long time ago. She's changed a lot since then. She's not the same person you knew before. Don't you think you should give her another chance?"

"I don't know Ross, unless she can magically go back and give me back those four years of hell, I don't think another chance is possible," he responded rather coldly.

Ross was about to say something else when Monica interrupted him by getting everyone's attention.

"Okay! Dinner's ready!" she announced.

Everyone immediately headed for their seats while Ross lingered a bit behind. Now he was worried; if Will still holds the same grudge against Rachel as he did in high school, coupled with her raised hormones, this night could get real ugly real fast.

As he slowly made his way back to his seat, Rachel spotted him and smiled, gesturing to the empty seat next to her. He smiled back, noticing the pregnant glow around her and how beautiful she looked, even in the simple blouse she had changed into on the fly. He immediately walked over and took a seat, gently rubbing her knee as he sat down.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I don't know. Half of me wants to jump on you right now but the other half is telling me to wait until we get back home. I guess I'm fifty-fifty right now."

Ross chuckled softly. "Well, I guess that's better than nothing. Just hold on a bit longer sweetie and I promise you we'll do something tonight."

"Ugh, honey, please don't tease me right now. God knows what my body will do if I get too aroused," she said, almost in a begging tone, making him chuckle again.

"Alright, let's eat!" Joey announced, holding his fork and knife in his hands. "Bring on the turkey!"

"Joey this is your last chance to drop out. A long as you don't take a bite I can still probably save the turkey for other meals," Monica said, giving him a chance to reconsider eating an entire turkey by himself.

"No way, I came to eat!" he declared. "I'm a Tribbiani! Tribbianis don't back out of food eating challenges!"

Monica just rolled her eyes. "Alright then…" she brought over a small roasted poultry and placed it in front of her husband.

"That's it?" Joey questioned. "I can eat that no problem. At least give me a challenge."

"That's Chandler's chicken," Monica stated, walking back to the oven. "This… is your turkey."

Joey's eyes widened as she placed a massive roasted turkey right in front of him, practically larger than his head. He stared at it cautiously, a little caught off guard by the size.

"H-how big is that?" he asked hesitatingly.

"About twenty pounds, give or take," Monica answered, amused.

"Take, please take," he begged quietly to himself, making everyone laugh and roll their eyes.

"Alright, who would like some yams?" Rachel asked, holding up the plate. She looked over at the guest of the table and smiled. "Will?"

"Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" he shot back unexpectedly. Ross immediately gulped. Already it was going bad.

"What?" Rachel asked, confused, as Joey offered some of his turkey, holding it up in front of her. In an instant the smell made her feel nauseated and she immediately looked away. "Bleh! Could we please keep the chicken, and the turkey, and everything on the other side of the table? The smell is getting to my head."

"Typical!" Will fake coughed, surprising her further.

"I'm sorry, what?" she asked, not sure if she heard him correctly.

"I said it was typical. Typical of you, Rachel Green, Queen Rachel, does whatever she wants in her little Rachel-land," he responded quite harshly. Ross face-palmed.

"Who is this guy?" Joey asked in an amused tone, looking at Chandler who simply shrugged.

"Ross, what is he talking about?" Rachel asked her boyfriend, who had kept quiet. He placed a hand on her arm.

"You know what Rach, maybe he's just-"

She turned back to Will without letting him finish. "Do you have a problem with me?" she questioned the stranger.

"I don't know, do I? Do I?" Will shot back in a challenging tone.

"I think you do," Phoebe commented.

Monica walked over to where Rachel was seated. "Um, apparently you were a little mean to him in high school."

"A little mean? You made my life miserable," Will clarified.

"I-I had no idea. I'm sorry," she responded, genuinely remorseful.

"Well you should be," he said, clearly not accepting her apology. "Screw it, bring on the yams."

"B-but you worked so hard…" Monica said hesitantly.

"Yams!" he demanded and she immediately handed him the plate. He began angrily placing spoon-fulls onto his plate while staring Rachel down.

"Will, I just want to say that I'm really sorry for whatever I did to you in high school," she tried apologising again.

"Oh, it wasn't just me," he said, handing off the yams. "We had a club."

 _Uh oh_ , Ross thought, sinking deep into his chair.

"You had a club?" Rachel asked, bewildered.

"That's right, the ' _I Hate Rachel Green Club_ '!"

"Oh my God! So what? You all just joined together to hate me?" she questioned, feeling a little hurt that she was so disliked in high school. "Who else was in this club?"

Will smirked. "Me… and Ross."

"What?"

Rachel immediately spun around and looked at Ross in a baffled manner. To say she was blindsided was an understatement; was it true the person closest to her was in a club created specifically to hate her?

Ross scratched his throat. "Um… would you like some yams?" he asked, desperately trying to change the topic.

"No, I don't want some yams!" she responded, hurt and anger clearly being shown in her voice. "So let me get this straight; you were in an 'I hate Rachel' club?"

"Um… kind of…" he answered hesitantly.

"Well who else was in this club?" she further questioned.

"Well… uh, there was Will… and me… and that exchange student from Thailand."

"Tataka-Kikek," Will clarified. "Man, that guy was a jokester."

Ignoring him, Rachel focused her attention to her boyfriend. "So Ross, we went out for over two years and you never told me you were in an 'I Hate Rachel' club?"

"Wait a second," Will jumped in, turning to Ross. "You went out with her? We had a pact."

" _Is_ going out with her," Rachel clarified, however looking very unhappy.

"Dude!"

"Look, that pact was made in high school. It's not like it's binding forever," Ross said, trying to defend himself, though he knew Rachel was already pissed off. He still couldn't believe that somehow the conversation had turned to him.

"I can't believe this!" Rachel exclaimed, standing up from her seat. She felt like she couldn't even be near him right now. "Monica did you know about this?"

"I swear I didn't," she said, holding up her hands. "Hey, is that why you two used to go up to your bedroom and lock the door?" The two of them nodded. "I have to say, I'm a little relieved."

Ross just shook his head and stood up, slowly walking towards Rachel who was standing off to the side with her arms crossed. "Look, Rach, I'm sorry ok? I was a stupid kid who made stupid decisions. The only reason I joined-"

"Co-founded," Will added. He shot him a look.

"… co-founded, was because I was insanely in love with you," he said, touching her gently on the elbow. "Obviously I didn't handle it very well, but if you think about it, the'I Hate Rachel Club' was really the 'I _Love_ Rachel Club'."

"Except it was really the 'I Hate Rachel Club'," Will concluded.

All that did was seem to make her angrier as Rachel shot Ross a cold look and took a few steps away from him. "Ok, so what? You guys would just get together and say mean things about me?"

"Oh, we did a little more than just that," Will started.

Ross immediately stepped forward. "No no, no no no. We don't need to go there…"

"What? What else did you do?" Phoebe asked curiously.

"We started a rumor," Will answered, saying it proudly as Ross hung his head.

"Rumor? What rumor?" Rachel questioned.

"Th-there was no rumor. Will's just being crazy," he lied, but she saw right through it.

"Ross!"

"Ok, ok, but it's no big deal. We… uh, we said that… uh, the rumor was that… you had both male and female reproductive parts," Ross stammered, looking away.

"Ha!" Will laughed out loud.

"What?" Rachel exclaimed, taken back by the rumor.

"That's right, we said your parents flipped a coin, decided to raise you as a girl, but you still had a hint of a penis," he further explained, smiling.

"Oh my God!" she yelled out, covering her face in embarrassment.

"You started that?" Monica asked, jumping in.

"You heard that?" she asked, bewildered that Monica knew about it.

"Everyone at our school heard it!"

"Are you kidding? Everyone at _my_ school heard it," Chandler revealed. "You were the hermaphrodite cheerleader from Long Island?"

"Oh no!" she cried, covering her face again. "This is making so much sense now. This is why people always gave me weird looks at school and guys used to avoid me. Monica, how could you have not told me about this?"

"Because I thought it might have been true and I was afraid that you'd cry and show it to me," she explained. Rachel frowned as Joey began looking at her pants.

"Joey stop staring! There's nothing there! It's not true!" she yelled, waiving her hands in front of his face.

"I'm afraid I'm going to need visual proof," he said.

"Hey!" Ross shouted and Joey's eyes lit up.

"Right, sorry," he quickly said, returning back to his turkey.

Rachel turned to him. "Ross, how could you do this to me? I thought you loved me," she questioned him, hints of tears appearing in her eyes.

"I was in love with you Rach, I was madly in love with you," he answered, trying to approach her but noticed that she kept backing away slightly. "Sweetie, I told you I made some stupid mistakes back then, but it was only because I was so in love with you that I didn't know what to do with it. I guess I didn't show it all too well."

"You guess? You embarrassed me in front of the entire high school, maybe even the entire state! How can you say you still loved me after you made me look like the biggest fool in New York?" Now she was actually beginning to cry and he immediately noticed tears beginning to roll down her cheek.

"Rach…" he started, feeling horrible about himself and wishing he hadn't spread that rumor. He began slowly approaching her in an effort to calm her down but suddenly she let out a sob, covering her mouth as she quickly ran towards Monica and Chandler's bedroom. "Rachel!"

The door slammed behind her as Ross was left standing in the kitchen, his mind still not caught up since everything had happened so fast. He stared at the bedroom door, unsure of whether he should try to see if she was alright or if he should give her some space.

Meanwhile the rest of the group, wide-eyed, quietly sat down and ate their dinner in silence.

"What's up with her?" Joey asked, noticing the sudden change in her emotion. Chandler nodded, noticing that as well.

"She's in her fourth month of pregnancy so she's going to have a lot of mood swings," Monica explained. "Surely this can't be good for her right now."

"You think we should be worried since she's hiding out in our bedroom?" Chandler asked, looking at the shut door.

She just shrugged. "Well it's not like you can do anything right now anyways. We'll just have to wait and see what happens."

…

"Rach? Rachel, you're dinner's going to get cold if you don't come out soon."

Ross sighed as he heard nothing from his side of the door. Rachel's been hiding out in the bedroom for a while now and he was worried sick. This was possibly the worst time for this to be happening, especially with her hormones going nuts; she could be doing or feeling anything right now.

"Sweetie, I'm sorry, ok? Could you please come out? Please?"

To his surprise the door swung open, revealing an emotional Rachel, though her feelings were a little hard to read. A mix of anger, hurt, and sadness is what he was picking up, and that was bad since they all seem to be directed at him.

"Look, look at this," she said to the others, walking by him without a second glance as she waved a thin blue book in the air.

"Is that our high school year book?" Monica asked. "Where did you even find that?"

"In the back of your closet. I remember leaving it with your stuff back when I first moved out," she answered, flipping open to the back. "Ok, listen to what Sean McMahon wrote in my yearbook senior year. ' _Dear Rach, you're such a great person.'_ Not girl, 'person'."

"Um, sweetie don't you think you're reading a little too much into it?" Ross asked lightly.

She spun around and gave him a cold look. "I wasn't done. ' _Dear Rach, you're such a great person. Sorry about your teeny weenie._ '"

Will laughed out loud as Ross hung his head. "Look, I know you're feeling-"

"No, you don't know what I'm feeling," she cut him off angrily. "You want to know what I'm feeling right now? I'm horny and upset, so there's some perspective on how I'm feeling."

"Woah, why's she horny?" Joey asked, stepping back.

"Pregnancy," Phoebe leaned over to answer.

Meanwhile Ross sighed. "Ok… anyways, I get you're feeling upset but what do you want me to do? Call everyone in the entire school and tell them it wasn't true?"

"Yes!"

"Hey, could you also tell them I'm skinny now?" Will asked.

"Oh! Me too!" Monica chimed in.

"Ok, no, I'm not calling anybody, ok?" He walked over to Rachel and gently touched her elbows. "Look Rach, I'm sorry for starting that rumor. It was stupid and completely uncalled-for, but that was like a million years ago. Can't you forgive me after so many years since then?"

Rachel sighed, finally giving in. She couldn't stay mad at him for long. "Maybe… but I just want to point out that I never did anything to hurt you in high school."

"Actually, that's not entirely true," Monica jumped in.

"What?"

"Well, I mean you never did anything as big as starting a rumor, but you did always make fun of him behind his back and call him names," she pointed out. "Remember? You were the one who started the nickname ' _Dino Ross_ '."

Ross immediately turned to her. "That was you?"

"Um… maybe…" she mumbled. Now it was her turn to feel ashamed.

"You barely even knew me back then. How could you talk behind my back when we didn't even talk?"

"I'm sorry, but I was the popular girl back then. All the popular kids picked on someone so I kind of chose you…" she explained, scratching her head sheepishly.

"Bitch!" Will fake coughed again, making her turn to him and give him an annoyed look.

"I can't believe you were the one who started that. You know that nickname haunted me for all of high school," Ross said, a little unhappy.

"Hey, those were just little things. You gave me a teeny weenie!" she shot back, crossing her arms.

"Ok, enough," Monica said, stepping in to finally put an end to all of this. "Look you guys, all of this is way in the past. You've been through so much since then and now you've got so many more important things to worry about. Can't you just let this go?"

Ross and Rachel shared a look. "Yeah, she's right. I'm sorry," she apologised first.

"I'm sorry too," he responded, gently placing an arm around her waist. "We shouldn't let this get between us, especially since we're going to have this baby together." She smiled and nodded her head.

"Hold on," Will stood up, turning to the two of them. "You got her pregnant?"

He blinked. "Yeah."

"Are you getting married?"

Ross looked down at Rachel, then back up. "No."

"So you knocked her up but you're not going to marry her," Will concluded, smirking and raising a hand for a high-five. "Dude!"

Ross just shook his head, laughing slightly, as was Rachel. What a night this has been, but at least the storm has finally passed.

"Alright, now can we please get back to dinner?" Monica asked, already seeing Joey head back to continue on his turkey.

Rachel looked up at Ross and shared a laugh. "That would be great," she said as she and Ross returned to their seats, holding hands through the rest of the night.

…

When they got back home a couple hours later, the first thing they both did was collapse on the couch, holding their stomachs from the amount of food they had eaten.

"Oh God, I'm so full. I feel like I'm going to explode," Rachel said, letting out a groan.

"I know how you feel," Ross said, rubbing his own stomach.

"This baby's going to be so fat when it comes out in a couple months," she joked.

He laughed, turning to look at her. He gently began stroking her small bump as he stared into her eyes. "Listen, I know we're past this, but I'm really sorry for starting that rumor back."

Rachel smiled, reaching forward and gently stroking his cheek. "Oh honey, you're so sweet. It's ok, I'm not mad anymore. Like you said, it was so long ago that it doesn't even matter what had happened. Plus, I was a bitch back then so I kind of deserved it."

"Well I'm still sorry," he said, giving her a soft smile. "And that leads me to the next thing I wanted to say, and that is I want to make it up to you."

"How?" she perked, now intrigued.

"Well…" he started, drawing small circles on her stomach. "I know you've been feeling really uncomfortable with the pregnancy lately and I overheard a little bit of your conversation with the girls earlier. So if it'll make you feel better, we can have sex tonight if you want."

Rachel's heart melted from how sweet he was being, but she knew this wasn't right. "No, honey, we don't have to do that. I know you're not ready yet and I want our first time to be special. Not just because you feel bad about something."

"But I do feel bad," he countered. "It's my job to make you feel as comfortable as possible and I feel like I haven't been able to do that because I've put limitations on our relationship."

"No, Ross listen to me," she demanded, not letting him continue. "The only reason we have limitations is because of me, so don't for one second blame yourself for that. You've been the perfect boyfriend and the most amazing future-father for our baby, and I love you so much for that. You don't need to prove anything to me by us having sex, because just being around you makes me feel comfortable and loved."

He smiled, slowly leaning in and placing a soft kiss on her lips. "Are you sure? You certainly wanted to have sex before we left."

Rachel laughed and leaned her forehead on his. "Honey, I'm sure. Besides, we can always do other things together that'll satisfy me."

"Oh yeah? Like what?" he asked, clearly toying with her.

She hummed, nearing his mouth. "Mmm, well kissing me is a good start…"

"Then I will do that," he whispered against her lips before their mouths connected, looking to satisfy not just hers, but both their sexual needs.

…

 **Author's Note: Sorry, I just read it over and the ending is pretty much the same as last chapters'. I swear that it wasn't supposed to be like that so I'm just going to leave it.**

 **I've decided that the plan moving forward is to finish up this story by Christmas, spend a couple days brainstorming and thinking of ideas, and come back strong in 2018 with a new story for all of you. Hope that sounds good with all of you.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

It was a quiet night. Ross was quietly dozing off as he listened to the soft hum of the apartment heater and the gentle breeze blowing against his window outside. His mind was already shut off and his body was following suit as he began to fall into a deep sleep.

All of a sudden a soft, inaudible voice interrupted him just as he was about to nod off. He subconsciously frowned, brushing it off as his mind playing tricks on him as he began to doze off again.

"Ross."

He heard the voice again, this time a little louder and clearer. He inwardly sighed, waiting a few seconds to see if the voice would interrupt him again. Not hearing anything, he rolled over to his other side and buried his face into his pillow, desperately trying to fall asleep.

"Ross!"

"I'm up!" he immediately sat up, groaning and rubbing his eyes. Squinting into the darkness, it took a few moments for his eyes to adjust until he noticed his girlfriend's face staring right back at him only a couple inches away. "Rachel? What are you doing up?"

"I went to use the bathroom and I think I felt the baby move!" she exclaimed excitedly, her smile practically glowing through the darkness.

"I'm sure it was just your imagination…" he murmured, his eyes incoherently shutting down as he slowly lay back down.

"No! It happened! I swear!" she opposed, pulling him back up. "Look! Feel!"

She took his hand and placed it under her 'Frankie Say Relax'. For a moment nothing happened, but all of a sudden Ross felt a tiny little kick against his hand and instantly he was wide awake.

"Oh my God, you were right," he said in shock, a large smiling coming to his face.

"I know!" she smiled, covering her mouth as happy tears began showing in her eyes.

Ross looked up, noticing her soft tears, and smiled, gently wiping them away. "Come here," he said, moving his legs off the bed and letting her sit in his lap. He took one of her hands and placed it on her stomach along with his as they felt the occasional small kick from inside her belly together.

"Sweetie, that's our baby," he whispered gently.

Rachel looked up and smiled, asking for a kiss with her eyes. He got the message and planted a soft, refreshing kiss on her lips.

"I love you," she said afterwards, staring into his eyes.

"I love you too," he responded, giving her another kiss on her forehead. "We should get some sleep. Remember, tomorrow we have my parents' anniversary."

"Oh, that's right." She inadvertently let out a yawn, making him chuckle softly.

He returned back to his position on the bed as she quickly climbed in, cuddling up as best she could beside him. Matching her position, he turned around, placing his hand back on her stomach as he kissed her neck.

"Sweet dreams beautiful," he whispered and she smiled.

Together, they finally dozed off in each other's arms.

…

A whole day later Ross and Rachel found themselves walking into the large banquet hall that is Event Room C. Presents in hand, the moment they entered the large room they were immediately spotted by Ross' parents who came by to greet them.

"Hey guys!" Ross greeted, giving his parents a hug.

"Hey!" Rachel followed, receiving a kiss on the cheek from both parents as well. "Happy thirty-fifth anniversary!"

"Thanks for coming kids!" Judy smiled before her eyes noticed Rachel's large belly. "My! Darling, look how big you are now!"

Rachel smiled and placed her hands on her stomach. "I know! And last night we even felt the baby start kicking for the first time!"

"Oh, well that's wonderful dear!" Judy exclaimed happily. "I still remember when Ross first started to kick. He was a real kicker back then, isn't that right Jack?"

"Why do they serve food on such a sharp stick?" he asked, inspecting the kabob stick in his hand.

"That's a good question dad. A good question," Ross said, patting his dad on the back as Rachel stifled a laugh.

Just then one of Ross' aunts appeared from off to the side and patted them both on the shoulders.

"Congratulations you two," the woman greeted.

The two of them smiled. "Thank you, we're both really excited," Rachel responded, touching her stomach.

"You must be, oh and congratulations on your wedding!"

Both Ross and Rachel were taken aback by this comment. "What?"

"Kids," Judy interrupted, getting their attention. "Um, can we talk to you for a moment?"

"Uh, yeah sure mom," Ross said, waving goodbye to his aunt as his parents took them aside.

"It's just a little thing," she began. "While we think it's simply _marvelous_ that you're having this baby out of wedlock, some of our friends are less open-minded… which is why we told them you're married."

"What?"

"Thanks for going along with this," Judy smiled, patting them both on the arm before walking away.

"What? Dad, we have to pretend that we're married?" Ross questioned, turning to his father.

"Son, I had to shave my ears and trim my nose hairs for tonight. You can do this," he answered before walking away as well.

"Can you believe this?" Ross asked out loud a moment later. "I don't want to have to lie about us being married."

"Oh honey, I know, I don't either, but it's their party and it's only one night," she said. "Plus it's not like we're not together so at least we don't have to lie about that."

"And what if people start asking questions?"

"Well… technically we were married before…" she mentioned, earning a raised eyebrow. "Haven't you ever wondered what it would be like if we were still married?"

Ross scratched his head. "I guess… yeah…"

"So then let's just pretend like we're still married and if anyone asks us questions we'll just answer as we would if we were," she said, wrapping herself around his waist. "That ok with you, hubby?"

Ross sighed and let out a laugh. "I guess, but only if you are my darling."

She smiled and they locked eyes, making him lean down and kiss her softly on the lips.

"Ross? Rachel?"

The two of them turned to see two more of Ross' relatives headed their way. "Hi Aunt Lisa. Uncle Dan," Ross greeted, hugging his aunt as his uncle gave Rachel a kiss on the cheek.

"We just came by to congratulate you two on the baby," Aunt Lisa said. "And on your wedding!"

"Ah yes, thank you," Rachel smiled, patting Ross gently as he smiled as well.

"So how's married life treating you?" Ross' uncle asked.

"Absolutely wonderful," Ross answered.

"Oh, but you know, it's even better knowing I get to wake up beside this man every day," Rachel added, earning a smile from her fake husband.

"Oh, aren't you two sweet. Young love…" Aunt Lisa trailed off. "Well, we'll leave you two be for now."

The two of them walked off as Ross and Rachel remained standing with wide smiles on their faces.

"Well, you seem to be enjoying being married," he commented, noticing a soft blush.

"Yeah, well, you're not the only one who has thought about us being married," she revealed.

"Oh? And what did you think about?" he asked, a little curious.

Rachel just smiled and patted him on the stomach again. "Another time honey," she said, just as she spotted the rest of their friends on the other side of the room. "Look, there are the others."

The two of them walked over to their friends who immediately greeted them when they joined up.

"Hey, when did you guys get here?" Monica asked.

"Oh, just a few minutes ago," Ross answered. "I had to run some errands so we just took a cab."

Suddenly a man who neither of them recognizing began laughing. "Hah, classic Ross!"

Ross looked at the man, confused. "Um, hi, I don't believe we've met."

"Oh right, guys this is Parker, my date for tonight," Phoebe introduced.

"Oh, well it's a pleasure to meet you Parker," he said, shaking his hand. Parker enthusiastically accepted it.

"My, what a hand shake you have there Ross! Very firm!"

"Um… thanks," he answered, awkwardly.

Parker smiled and let go before turning to Rachel. "Rachel, Rachel, look how you glow. May I?" he asked, placing his hands on her stomach.

"Uh, I think you already are," she pointed out.

"Rachel, you have life growing inside you," he began, making her raise an eyebrow. "Is there anything more miraculous than… Ooh, are those oysters? Phoebe let's go!"

"Ok!" she said, following him and leaving Rachel just standing there dumbfounded at what just happened.

"Well, he seems like a swell guy," Ross commented afterwards.

"You have no idea. While in the car, he called the Long Island Expressway a 'concrete miracle'," Monica mentioned.

"Are you kidding? He was complimenting my tush and the way I was sitting," Chandler also added.

"Well at least he'll be hanging around Phoebe for the night," Rachel pointed out.

"Yeah well just in case you guys want to move over there so they'll have to find us again?" Monica asked, pointing towards the other side of the room.

Everyone looked at each other and nodded as they all quickly scurried away.

…

Hours went by and sometime during the night, Ross and Rachel found themselves surrounded by many of Ross' relatives and his parents' friends, all of them asking questions on the baby, though most of them were asking about their marriage.

"So, why don't you tell us more about your wedding?" Ross' Uncle Hank asked.

"You know, most of us were surprised we weren't invited," his wife added, earning nods from the crowd.

"Oh no, no, no, it was just our parents and maybe one or two friends," Ross quickly answered, feeling a little bit nervous under everyone's gaze. "It was a small wedding."

"But it was beautiful. It was small, but kind of spectacular," Rachel added.

"Where did you have it?" someone asked.

"On a cliff in Barbados, at sunset," she answered, clearly loving this fantasy wedding of theirs.

"That sounds so romantic. You must have looked beautiful," Aunt Rose commented.

"Oh, well you know… I did have an elegant white dress on and my veil was lace, hand-made by Belgian nuns… but only one or two people said that I looked like an angel, so I don't know…" she continued to brag, making Ross roll his eyes.

"So Ross, how did you propose?" Aunt Lisa asked him, turning the attention to him. Rachel looked up expectantly as well, obviously curious to see what he'd say.

Ross cleared his throat. "Um, well… uh, actually I took her to the planetarium, that's where we had our first date. Um, she walked in, and I had the entire room filled with, uh, lilies, her favourite flower. Then Fred Astaire singing _The Way You Look Tonight_ came on the sound system… and the lights came down… and I got on one knee, and written across the dome in stars, were the words: ' _Will you marry me?_ '"

Echoes of awws went through the crowd as Ross just nervously fiddled with his cufflinks. Beneath him, however, was Rachel who was staring up at him with large eyes filled with love. She had imagined his proposal in her mind and she couldn't believe he had thought of something so beautiful and heart warming, and the fact that it all related to her and them, it was just so romantic.

A couple more questions were asked before they were all interrupted by the sound of someone tapping their wine glass near the stage. Everyone turned to see Monica standing up there, staring out into the crowd with a large smile on her face.

"Ok, it's time for the toast!" she announced as everyone quickly made their ways back to their seats. Ross pulled out Rachel's seat for her, earning a smile, before taking his own seat and turning to his sister who was waiting patiently.

"Alright, well first I know normally Ross gives the toasts, but this year I'm going to do it," Monica said and a soft murmur went through the crowd. She frowned but quickly brushed it off as she pulled out her cue cards.

"Ok, um… Mom, Dad, when I got married, one of the things that made me sure that I could do it, was the amazing example the two of you set for me. For that, and so many other things, I want to say thank you. I know I probably don't say it enough, but… I love you."

She pretended to wipe away a tear but to her dismay, nobody in the crowd seemed to be affected by her toast so far. Monica gathered up some more courage and flipped to her next cue card.

"When I look around this room, I'm saddened by those who could not be with us. Nana, my beloved grandmother, who would so want to be here…. but she can't, because she's dead. As is our dog, Chi-Chi." Monica walked over and handed the photo to her parents before quickly walking back to the stage. "Remember, her and Nana, gone."

Once again, not a single movement from the crowd and Monica was beginning to get frustrated.

"Um… ok, well did anyone see the ending of _Tears of Endearment_?" She looked around. "No? No movie fans? Ok, um… you want to hear something sad? The other day I watched this piece on these orphans in Romania who had been so neglected that they were incapable of love!"

Monica looked around one last time before letting out a groan. "You people are made of stone! Here's to Mom and Dad!"

She immediately stomped off the stage and returned to her seat at the table where the rest of her friends, along with her parents, were sitting.

"Thank you Monica, that was… um, interesting," her mother commented. "Wasn't it Jack?"

"Why don't I remember this dog?" he questioned, holding up the picture of Chi-Chi. Monica just hung her head and placed her forehead on the table as Chandler gently rubbed her back.

"Ross?" Judy said, turning to her son. "Why don't you give us your toast now?"

Monica perked up as Ross looked from her and back to his mother. "Oh no, Mom, it's just Monica this year."

"You're not going to say anything? On our thirty-fifth anniversary?"

Ross scratched his neck, looking over at his sister and apologizing with his eyes, before turning back. "No, of course I will."

He slowly stood up and walked over to the microphone, tapping on it to get everyone's attention. He noticed Rachel flash him a quick smile and he gained a little confidence, looking out at the crowd in the room.

"Um, everybody, ahem, I just wanted to say a few words myself. Um, on behalf of my beautiful wife, Rachel, and myself…" he started, earning some confused look from his friends. "… I just wanted to say that if… if in thirty-five years we're half as happy as you guys are, we'll count ourselves the luckiest people in the world. Also off something Monica said, I also believe that many of our loved ones, like Nana, would have loved to be here to celebrate with you… and you know what? I think she is."

The crowd erupted in cheers as many women, including his mother began tearing up. Ross awkwardly thanked everyone by raising a hand before gently raising a glass of wine to his parents' honour.

"Um, to Mom and Dad!"

…

Hours later, after Ross and Rachel finally returned back home, the two of them were in the living room, still discussing different aspects of their fantasy wedding.

"Oh, and you know, maybe I could have rode up in a Harley and afterwards we would have rode off into the distance," Ross suggested.

"Aww, that would have been so sweet," Rachel coed, earning a smile. She smiled as well as she gently rubbed her feet. "You know, it was really fun being married to you tonight."

"Yeah, I know. Didn't think it would be but it was really entertaining making up all those things about our fake wedding," he said, making her laugh lightly.

"Um, Ross, can I ask you something?" she asked, standing up and walking around the couch towards him.

"Yeah."

"Well… um, that proposal at the planetarium…?"

"I know, I know, it was stupid," he said, cutting her off.

"Are you kidding? With the lilies, and the song, and the stars? It was really wonderful," she said, images of the beautiful scene flashing in her mind once again. "Did you just make that up?"

"Um, well actually I thought about when we were going out. It was how I imagined I, uh, would have asked you to marry me," he revealed, leaving her a little astonished.

"Wow," she marveled, now imagining the same image but a couple years ago, and this time seeing it as something that could have been actually real. "Well, um, that would have been very hard to say 'no' to."

Ross nodded slowly. "Then it's a good thing I didn't do it because it sounds like it would have been a very expensive wedding," he joked, earning a soft laugh.

A moment of silence passed by as it was obvious the two of them were thinking about their past and what they could have been. Rachel gently looked up and locked eyes with him, making her smile at the man in front of her. Even though a part of her was saddened that she never got to experience his proposal way back when, she knew that what the future held for them was far better than anything in the past and that no matter what, as long as he was the man she'd end up with, it would always be the perfect proposal and perfect wedding in her mind.

Slowly she walked up to him and leaning on her tippy-toes, she kissed him gently on the lips. When they broke he looked at her, a little confused as she simply gave him a soft smile.

"Thank you," she whispered into his ear, hugging him tightly around the waist.

Ross opened his mouth to say something, but realised that there wasn't anything left to say. Instead, he smiled, taking one of her hands in his as he slowly led them back to the bedroom.

…

 **Author's Note: Sorry guys, I lied. I totally forgot the amount of events I've got going around Christmas so this story will probably end after Christmas. I will have a new story by the start of 2018 though, so I hope you all look forward to that.**

 **Aside from that, hope you enjoyed and be sure to leave a review. Merry Christmas all!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

It was a typical afternoon and Ross was returning home from work. Whistling as he unlocked his apartment door, as soon as he pushed it open his eyes immediately set on Rachel, who was quietly reading on the couch in a comfortable pair of sweatpants and sweatshirt, her pregnant glow radiating all around her.

Hearing the door open, Rachel immediately turned her head towards the entrance, smiling when she saw him enter. They made eye-contact and he smiled back, setting his briefcase on the nearby table.

"Hey you," she greeted sweetly.

"Hey you," he returned. With a few large strides he came over and kissed her gently on the lips.

"How was your day?" she asked, putting aside her book as she turned her attention to him.

Ross shrugged. "Same old, same old. What about you?"

"Oh, you know… went over to Monica's for a bit and just kind of sat here… waiting for you."

"Waiting for me? I didn't know I was so special," he joked, sitting down next to her.

"Well you're special to me," she smiled, blushing slightly. "Plus, I missed you this morning."

"I know, I had to go to work early," he said, playfully nuzzling her neck with his nose. "And how has my little baby been treating you?"

Rachel sighed, holding her belly. "It's a hassle. I swear, this baby thinks my bladder is a squeeze toy."

Ross chuckled lightly. "Only a few more weeks left sweetie, and after that we're going to have something that'll change our lives forever," he said, making her smile.

"Hey, you know, speaking of the baby…" Rachel began, gently playing with his hand. "I was thinking that maybe we should start thinking of some names for when it comes."

"You know, I was just thinking about that," he said, making her smile again. "Have you thought of any names?"

Rachel smiled and turned to him. "Hmmm… ok well these are just ideas but I was thinking _James_ is a nice name for if it's a boy, and if it's a girl maybe _Isabella_ can be an option…?"

"I think those are great names," he said, gently stroking her arm. "For me though, I was thinking maybe _Thomas_ if it's a boy, and _Emily_ for if it's a girl."

Rachel inadvertently frowned after hearing the last part. "Um… _Emily_?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, it's the name I had picked out ever since we dated, remember?" he pointed out, raising an eyebrow at her reaction. "Do you not like it?"

"No, no, I think it's a great name. It's just…" she began to trail off, scratching her head. "…it's kind of the name of your ex-wife."

"Oh, that's right! I totally forgot!" he exclaimed, slapping his forehead and making her giggle slightly. "Alright, well I guess Emily's off the table."

"How about we say no names of our ex's?" Rachel suggested.

"I'm ok with that," Ross answered, nodding. "Alright, so how do you want to do this? I'm guessing we should have one definitive name for each gender."

"Yeah, that makes sense," she nodded. "Oh, what if we both choose three names each for both genders and we'll decide from there?"

Ross was a little hesitant on the idea. "I don't know sweetie, I feel like that might be a bit too much. I had to fight with Susan over a name for Ben and I don't want to us to end up doing that too."

She understood completely. Knowing the past versions of themselves, they used to fight over even the smallest things and they both would like to avoid unnecessary arguments that could push them apart again.

"Oh wait, I got it!" Ross suddenly exclaimed. He quickly turned around and pulled out two tissues from the tissue box and laid them on the table. He then grabbed a nearby pen and wrote a large 'B' on one tissue and a large 'G' on the other before crumpling them into small balls and mixing them between his hands.

"What are you doing?" she asked, not exactly following along.

"Well, since neither of us knows what the gender of the baby is, what we can do is randomly choose a gender and whatever one we get, we choose a name for it. That way we won't have to fight over names and there's a fifty-fifty chance that our name will be chosen," he explained, and she nodded, liking the idea. He stopped mixing the two tissue balls and held both his hands out in front of her, the tissue balls hidden underneath. "Ok, pick a hand."

"Um…" Her eyes darted from one hand to the other, eventually landing on his left hand. "Ok, this one!"

Ross turned his hand and offered the tissue ball to her. She immediately accepted it and began opening it up, immediately spotting the large 'G' Ross had written a minute ago. "I got girl!" she exclaimed.

"I guess that leaves me with boy," he smiled, unraveling his own ball as well.

"So what now? We just think of a name for the gender we picked?" Rachel asked.

"Well it doesn't have to be now," he responded, knowing that he wanted some time to think as well. "We can talk about it later tonight so we can have the afternoon to think about it."

"Ok," she smiled, already beginning to brainstorm names for a baby girl. "Wait, what happens if you don't like the name I choose or I don't like the name you choose?"

Ross scratched his head. "I guess if you really don't like the name we can change it, but I don't think we'll need to. I trust you to give our possible baby girl a beautiful name, don't you trust me?"

"Oh honey, of course I trust you. I'm sure you'll come up with the perfect name for if we have a baby boy," she said, smiling into his eyes. He smiled back and their lips met in the middle in another soft kiss.

After they broke a minute later, Ross stood up to hang up his jacket and put his briefcase away in their room. "Hey, by the way do you want to see a movie later tonight?" he asked as he slowly began heading for the bedrooms door.

She turned around from the couch. "Oh, a movie date? Aww, honey I'd love to but I'm having my baby shower today."

"Really? Is Monica hosting it?" he asked and she nodded. "Oh, that's why she asked for me to buy her balloons."

"Yeah, that's for me!" she exclaimed happily.

Ross chuckled at her child-like antics that he loved. "Well you have fun at your baby shower then. I'll probably see what the guys are up to and we can just have that movie date some other time."

She smiled. "I'd like that very much."

He smiled and kissed her once more before leaving for the bedrooms. Rachel sighed happily and turned around on the couch, sitting down comfortably again. Now that they settled the baby naming thing, she needed to prepare for her baby shower.

…

Later that day, Rachel found herself mingling among the crowd of guests who had shown up to her baby shower. There were about twenty-so people, small enough to fit the apartment comfortably, and so far she loved the relaxing atmosphere of her baby shower.

After talking with a friend from work, Rachel spotted Monica and Phoebe in the kitchen and went over to them.

"Hey guys! Thanks for throwing me such an awesome baby shower!" she exclaimed, giving them both the best hug a pregnant woman could give.

"You're welcome sweetie. You're mom told me she'd also swing by later but I don't think your sisters are coming," Monica mentioned.

She laughed and waived it off. "Are you kidding? My sisters? At a party with no men and no booze? I'm surprised you even bothered inviting them."

Phoebe turned to her and gently touched her belly. "So? How's the baby been today?"

Rachel smiled and rubbed her stomach. "It's been a little bit of a trouble but nothing I can't handle. Oh, and Ross and I decided to start thinking of names today!"

"Really?" they both asked at the same time, clearly excited.

She smiled and nodded. "Yeah, and since we don't know the gender of the baby yet, we decided to choose a name for one gender each. I'm supposed to come up with a name for if we have a baby girl."

"Have you thought of any yet?" Monica asked.

"A few, but I'm still thinking about it," she replied. "You guys have any names?"

"Oh, oh, I do!" Phoebe said, getting their attention. "Ok, get this. If it's a girl… _Phoebe_. And if it's a boy… _Phoebo_!"

Rachel scratched her head and shared a look with Monica. "Um… yeah, those are some good suggestions Pheebs. I'll be sure to consider them." She turned to her other friend. "What about you Monica?"

Monica shyly looked away and shuffled her feet. "Well… um, actually I've had my baby names picked out ever since I was fourteen."

"Really? What are they?" Rachel asked, now curious.

"Um…" she hesitated, as if she was deciding whether to reveal the names or not. "… um, ok. If it's a boy, it's _Daniel_. And if it's a girl… _Emma_."

Rachel gasped. " _Emma!_ Oh, what a beautiful name. I can't believe I didn't think of that!"

"Yeah, it took me a couple years to think of it," Monica added.

"Oh, well it's perfect. I only wish I could name my baby that," she said, looking down and gently rubbing her stomach. She felt a kick where she placed her hand and smiled. "Don't worry little one. Mommy's going to find you the perfect name."

Just then a knock came from the front door and a moment later Sandra walked in. Rachel immediately spotted her and smiled.

"Mom!" she greeted, going over to her and giving her a hug.

"Oh, there's my little girl!" Sandra smiled. "How have you been darling?"

"Great! Really great!" Rachel replied, breaking the hug.

"Oh my! Look at that!" her mother said when she saw how big she was. "Only three weeks to go, huh?"

"I know! Ross and I are both really excited!"

"I bet you are," her mother smiled. "Now have you picked your nanny yet? I don't want you to just use your housekeeper otherwise it'll split her focus."

Rachel paused. "Oh, um mom, actually I'm not planning on using a nanny and Ross and I don't have a housekeeper."

"What?" Sandra asked in surprised. "You don't have a housekeeper? It's like you're living like a cave person."

She scratched her head. "Yeah, well…"

"Ok, forget about the housekeeper. Rachel, you must get a nanny. You don't know how overwhelming this is going to be," her mother reiterated.

"Maybe… but Ross and I just can't afford a nanny," she said.

Rachel helped her mother with her jacket before they both walked further into the apartment, heading for the drink table. All of a sudden her mother spun around and clapped her hand.

"Oh, wait! I just had the greatest idea!"

"What? What is it?" Rachel asked, a little caught off guard by her mother's directness.

"I'm going to come live with you!"

She froze, wondering if she heard her right. "Wh-what? Um, what?"

"Oh, this is going to be great! I'm so happy I get to do this for my little girl!" Sandra exclaimed, bringing her in for a hug.

"Oh no, Mom, I'm sure it's not necessary you come live with us…" Rachel began, breaking the hug. The last thing she wanted was for her mother to come stay with her and Ross. "I get that it might be hard but I'm sure I can handle it."

Sandra tilted her head and looked at her sympathetically. "Oh sweetheart, I know you're going to be a terrific mom. I just think you need a little help, especially at the beginning."

"I'm telling you Mom, I'm going to be fine. I can handle this," she repeated.

"Really? Remember _Twinkles_?" her mother asked.

"I was twelve and he was a hamster! Mom, I'm not going to vacuum up my baby!" she countered.

Before her mother could say something else, Phoebe interrupted everyone in the room.

"Ok everyone! It's present time!" she announced, bringing what looked like a large basket of gifts over to the living room.

"We'll talk about this later darling," her mother said before going to find a seat on the couch.

Rachel sighed, waiting behind for a bit. She wondered how she was going to get out of this. Though she loved her mother, she could already drive her nuts just from a harmless lunch. There was no was she could handle eight weeks of her mother living with her.

"Rachel, you coming?" she heard Monica yell out.

"Oh, right. Sorry," she said, quickly walking over to where everyone was gathered. Upon nearing the crowd, she spotted the large basket of gifts. "Wow!"

"This is from all your friends from work!" Phoebe explained, gesturing towards everything.

"Oh my gosh! Oh wow… Oh, I know what this is!" Excited, she bent down and picked up something with a long tube and a cylinder holder. She opened her mouth again, but realised what she was thinking wasn't exactly what it looked like. "…wait a minute. That can't be right. Is this a beer bong for a baby?"

Her mother laughed gently beside her. "Darling that a breast pump!"

"Phh! I knew that!" she said, putting it down. She spotted something else that caught her eye; a large cylinder that she immediately picked up. "Oh, what's this?"

"It's a Diaper Genie," one of her friend's at work answered.

"Oh, so it dispenses clean diapers!"

"No, it's where you put the dirty ones!" her friend explained, laughing.

Rachel made a face. "Well that's gross. Why don't you just take it outside and throw it in the dumpster?"

"You're going to do that ten times a day?" her mother questioned.

"It goes ten times a day?!" she asked, bewildered. "What are we feeding it? Indian food?"

"No dear, that's what babies do!" Sandra answered. "Plus, what are you planning on doing with the baby while you go out and throw out the garbage?"

"I don't know… leave it on the changing table…?" she answered, hesitantly.

Suddenly everyone in the room gasped.

"You can't leave a baby alone!" her mother scolded.

"Of course! Of course, I know that! What I meant to say was… um… uh…" She was now panicking as she realised she actually didn't know what to do. She began to tear up and quickly covered up the basket of gifts with a blanket. "Ok, you know what? Opening the presents is a little overwhelming right now so I think, um, I'm just going to open them all later. But thank you all for coming, and for these beautiful gifts… and this basket is beautiful!"

"It's actually a bassinet," her friend from work jumped in again.

Rachel froze, now realising just how little she actually knew about babies. "Ok, mommy never leave me," she whimpered, turning to her mother and pulling her into a hug.

…

Hours later everyone had left, except her mother, and Monica and Phoebe were busy cleaning up the apartment as Rachel and her mother sat on the couch.

"So, um, you're going to stay with me as long as I need you?" Rachel asked softly.

"Of course I am!" Sandra answered.

She sighed. "Oh, mom, I swear I'm not an idiot. I read all kinds of books on pregnancy and giving birth, but I forgot to read the parts about what to do when the baby comes. And now the baby's coming, and I don't know what to do, and I'm panicking…"

"Oh, sweetie, it's ok. You're going to be fine," her mother consoled, gently rubbing her shoulder. Suddenly she rose from the couch and Rachel immediately panicked again.

"Wait, wait, wait, where are you going?"

"I'm just going to the bathroom dear, I'll be right back," her mother answered.

"Oh, ok."

Her mother gave her a soft smile before heading for the bathroom, leaving her slumping on the couch, feeling completely lost and hopeless.

All of a sudden the front door burst open and Ross walked in, smiling at his sister and Phoebe. Rachel turned around, seeing him at the doorway and immediately feeling a wave of relief wash over her. They made eye-contact and he smiled, making her smile back.

"Hey!" he greeted, walking over to her and giving her a kiss.

"Hey," she replied softly, gently playing with his hand. He looked behind her at all the gifts laid out on the table.

"Wow, looks like we got a lot of good stuff for the baby!" he exclaimed happily.

"Oh, we did, but my mom got us the greatest gift of all! She's going to live with us for eight weeks!" Rachel exclaimed excitedly.

"Wh-what?" he asked, caught off guard.

"Yes! She's going to help take care of the baby!"

"Wait, you're not serious are you?" Ross said quietly. "I mean, she's a very nice woman but there's no way we can take either weeks of her. She'll drive us totally crazy."

All of a sudden the bathroom door opened and Sandra came out, spotting Ross in the living room.

"Oh, hi Ross!"

"Good evening Sandra, how are you?" he greeted politely.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking, and so will the both of you once I move in," she smiled. "I'm sure Rachel has already told you I'll be coming to live with the both of you to help with the baby."

"Yes, yes, she has…" Ross said slowly, eyeing Rachel in the corner of his eye. "But you know, maybe it's not absolutely vital that you live with us."

Sandra raised an eyebrow. "But Rachel needs help with the baby."

"I do, I really do. I know nothing Ross," Rachel added.

"I'm sure that's not true…" he trailed off, seeing Rachel's devastated face and knowing it probably was. He turned back to her mother. "Ok, well, um, even if she doesn't know anything, I do. I have a son. His mother and I didn't live together but whenever he was with me, I took care of him all the time, by myself."

"That's true, I forgot you have another child," Sandra said, appearing like she was now reconsidering. "How is Ben by the way?"

"He's great! Yeah, he's doing really well," Ross answered. "But, um, back to matters, the point is when the baby comes, I will be there to feed it, and bathe it, and change it, and help Rachel out with anything she needs."

Slowly a smile appeared on Sandra's face. "Well then, you really don't need me to live with you. You're going to be a great father."

Ross smiled. "Thank you, and you're going to be a wonderful grandmother."

The two of them hugged, leaving Rachel still off to the side, feeling incredibly lost. "Hello!" she shouted out, getting both their attentions. "I still don't know what the hell I'm doing!"

"Oh, come on sweetie, every first-time mother feels that way. You're going to pick it up," Ross said.

She let out a puff of air and sat back down. "Yeah right…"

"Hey, you will," he said, walking around the couch and taking a seat on the table in front of her. He took her hands, getting her attention. "Look, remember when you first came to the city? You were this spoiled, helpless little girl who still relied on her daddy's credit cards."

"I hope you're going somewhere with this," she commented, clearly unimpressed.

Ross let out a soft chuckle. "Look at you now. You're this big executive! You're beautiful and you're able to live off what you make yourself without anyone's help. You are so much more capable than you give yourself credit for. I have no doubt in my mind that you're going to be an incredible mother."

She couldn't help but let out a smile. His words did that to her. "Really?"

He smiled back. "I'm telling you."

"Thank you," Rachel whispered softly, leaning forward and giving him a thankful kiss. He kissed her back and when they broke they smiled at each other.

"Aww, you kids are too sweet," Sandra commented, making them both blush. "I think I'm going to get going."

"Ok, thanks for coming Mom," Rachel smiled.

"Of course darling, and if you ever need anything, just let me know," she said, giving her daughter a kiss on the cheek. She turned to Ross. "And you, I'm glad you're the man Rachel chose to end up with."

"Thank you Sandra, that really means a lot," he said, sharing a loving look with Rachel.

After a few goodbyes from the others, Sandra left, leaving the four friends in the apartment alone. Ross took a seat on the couch next to Rachel, softly tracing small little circles on her belly as she relaxed in his arms.

"Oh, hey, I thought of a name for if we have a baby boy," Ross mentioned, catching her attention.

"Really? What is it?" she asked, curious to see what he had come up with.

He smiled. " _Matthew_."

" _Matthew_ …" She took a moment to think about it, smiling a little bit more every time she said it again in her head. " _Matthew_ … oh, I think its perfect! Honey, I love it!"

"Aww, thank you. I thought of it while I was with Chandler and Joey," he said laughing, giving her cheek a little kiss. "So what about you? Have you come up with a name for if we have a baby girl?"

All of a sudden Rachel's eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh my God! I totally forgot to think of one! I was so caught up with my mother moving in with us that I didn't come up with a name!"

"Sweetie, calm down, it's fine. The baby's not born yet, you still have time to think of one," Ross comforted.

"No!" she exclaimed, shaking herself out of his semi-hug. "I promised myself I'd have it tonight! Oh, I'm going to be such a terrible mother! I can't even remember to come up with my child's name!"

From the kitchen, Monica heard Rachel's wails and looked over, seeing the devastated look on her friend's face. Though to anyone else it wouldn't really be such a big deal, she knew how much Rachel wanted to be a good mother and that anything wrong she did would be like the end of the world to her. She could almost see tears in her eyes, and knowing how much it meant to her, she stepped in.

"Actually, you do have a name for your baby girl."

Ross and Rachel turned their heads to face Monica, who was standing behind them. "What? No I didn't," Rachel said, a little confused.

"Yes you do: _Emma_ ," Monica said, smiling.

"What? No Mon, you love that name. I couldn't possibly take it from you," Rachel countered.

Monica shook her head and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Take it. I saw the way you're face lit up when you heard it. It suits you better, so take it."

"Are you sure?" she asked, not believing that she doing this.

Monica smiled again. "I'm sure. Besides, nothing goes with _Bing_ so I'm screwed no matter what."

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Rachel exclaimed, doing her best to give Monica a hug. Instead she ended up pulling half of her over the couch and squeezing her upper shoulders.

"Now you better have a girl," Monica joked afterwards, earning a soft laugh.

"So, it's _Emma_ if it's a girl?" Ross clarified.

"Yup!" Rachel nodded excitedly, absolutely adoring the name.

"Well I love it," Ross smiled, pulling her closer to him before turning to his sister. "Thanks Mon, you're the best."

"Yeah, well…" she shrugged jokingly, earning a light shove from her brother.

Laughing along with everyone else, Rachel turned around and snuggled into Ross' arms, letting out a sigh of both relief and happiness. She managed to survive the baby shower and now she had two beautiful names for her baby.

"Matthew and Emma," she repeated in a whisper, a small smile coming to her face.

She couldn't wait for this baby to come.

…

 **Author's Note: Believe it or not, I think the next chapter may be the last one! I'm really excited to wrap this story up, and even more excited for the next one I'll start in the new year. But for now, let's finish this off strong. If the next chapter is the last one, I may or may not throw in an epilogue with it so be on the lookout for a double update. Otherwise there may be two extra chapters without an epilogue. I'll see how it goes.**

 **Hope everyone had a great Christmas! I'll see you next time!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

"Ross!"

Ross sighed as he put his pen down on his desk, rubbing his eyes. He stared aimlessly at the unfinished papers in front of him as his eyes glanced at the clock on the wall. This was the third time in the past half hour. At this point, he just shouldn't even bother trying to finish his papers.

"Ross!"

"I'm coming sweetie!" he yelled back, slowly getting up from his desk and heading out of the bedroom. He turned off the light behind him, knowing he was probably finished for the day.

Stepping into his living room, his eyes immediately darted to none other than his very pregnant girlfriend, Rachel, who was squirming on the couch, adjusting pillows and moving around to find a comfortable position to sit in.

Exactly one week ago was supposed to be her due date, but alas, she was late, and it was beginning to take a toll on her. Every day she was becoming more irritated and snapping at all the little things, him included. Then there were the times where she'd call him non-stop to help her with the simplest of things, like today, and while he didn't have a problem helping her out, not only would he get an ear-full afterwards but it also made it impossible for him to do anything else.

She was miserable, he could see, but her being miserable was making him miserable as well.

"You wanted me?" he asked, getting her attention. She turned around on the couch and immediately frowned.

"How long does it take for you to walk from the bedroom to here?" she snapped angrily.

"I was trying to finish that paper I'm writing, remember?" he answered slowly.

She let out a groan. "You and your stupid dinosaurs. I need you here. You're paper can wait."

Ross let out a breath of air and decided to let her other comment slide. "Alright, I'm here. What do you need?"

"That pillow," she said, pointing at a pillow resting on a chair only a few steps away.

Normally he'd say something about that but under the current circumstance; he decided to keep his mouth shut. Without a word he walked over and grabbed the pillow, handing it to her, to which she snatched it out of his hand.

"Anything else sweetie?" he asked, trying to show her that he was on her side.

Instead of answering she ignored him, moving the pillow he just handed to her to adjust her sitting position, though by the look on her face, she didn't seem to be any more comfortable than before. Ross just quietly took a seat on the chair nearby, knowing when he should just kind of disappear and give her some space.

After about a minute of constant squirming and adjusting, Rachel finally settled into a position that was some-what comfortable. Letting out a sigh of annoyance, her head snapped towards him and she gave him an unimpressed look.

"So what? Now you're just going to sit there and watch me?" she questioned.

"You said you wanted me here," he pointed out.

"Ugh, fine," she groaned. "You know, you will never know just how miserable I feel right now."

"Oh… I think I have an idea," he mumbled.

"What's that?" she snapped.

"Nothing."

She let out another sigh of annoyance and shook her head. "You know what? You guys have it easy. Why is it that the man just has to impregnate the woman and after that, the woman suffers the rest of it?"

"That's not entirely true," Ross countered, but very lightly, knowing that starting an argument right now is probably the worst idea possible.

"Oh? Look at me, I'm a man! I've got a penis and I just go around giving my sperm out to women, but hey, if anything happens it's on you!" she outburst, using a low voice to pretend to be a man.

"Rach, don't you think you're over-exaggerating just a bit?" he asked.

"Am I? Alright, well can you run? Can you jump? Can you wear your normal clothes?" she questioned in a challenging tone. "I sure as hell can't do that, and at the end of the day, you don't have to walk around with a belly the size of a giant balloon, ready to burst at any moment. I look disgusting right now."

"Sweetie, you don't look disgusting. You're pregnant, you look amazingly beautiful," he said, and he actually meant it.

She just gave him a dirty look. "Ross, I _look_ disgusting and I _feel_ disgusting. This is one of those times where your words literally mean nothing to me," she shot back, leaving him unable to think of any response back.

For a moment, the two of them just sat in silence when all of a sudden the front door open and their four friends walked in.

"Hey!" they all greeted, stepping into the apartment and closing the door behind them. Ross was exceptionally relieved to see them, though Rachel was quite the opposite.

"Did you invite them over?" she questioned him in an angry tone.

"I swear I didn't," he defended, raising his hands to show that he had nothing to do with their friends' arrival.

"We just came by to check-up on you," Monica explained, giving her brother a look. "Is this a bad time?"

Ross just shook his head and rubbed his eyes. As his friends piled in, he let Phoebe sit in the chair he was seated in, wanting to get some distance between him and his 'loving' girlfriend for a moment. Meanwhile the rest of them all took a seat on the couch, though when Chandler sat right next to Rachel, she immediately gave him a dark look.

"Are you kidding me?" she asked harshly.

"What?" he responded, looking around as he wasn't sure what she was talking about.

Rachel nudged him aggressively and pointed to the tiny space between him and her. "Chandler, I'm practically the size of two people right now and you're going to give me the space of one?"

"Oh right, sorry," he said, caught off guard by her tone. He immediately turned to Joey and Monica and they all shifted over a little bit. Turning back, Rachel still held the same dirty look and they all shifted over again but her look still didn't change. "You know what? I think I'll just stand," he determined, joining Ross behind the couch as he let out a deep breath.

"So… um, a week late, huh? How you holding up?" Monica asked hesitantly.

"Ugh, I've never been more so uncomfortable in my life!" Rachel groaned, stretching out in the space vacated by Chandler.

"Oh, I know how you feel," Phoebe commented. "I remember when I was having the triplets, towards the end-"

"That's a great story Pheebs," she rudely interrupted. "How about you tell it to me as you get me some tea?"

Phoebe opened her mouth to respond, but decided it wasn't worth it. Instead she stood up, walking behind the couch and standing next to the other two men.

 _Wow_ , she mouthed.

 _I know right_ , Chandler mouthed back as Ross simply shook his head.

"Ugh, why doesn't this baby want to come out?!" Rachel groaned in obvious discomfort. "Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out!"

Their four other friends all looked at each other and shared a look.

"Let's," Chandler said as everyone got up and headed for the door. "Good luck with… _that_ Ross."

"Yeah, you've got your hands full," Phoebe commented as she passed him by.

"We'll see you later Rach," Monica said softly, earning a grunt in return. She turned to her brother. "Let us know if anything happens."

"Sure," he said in return as he watched his friends pile out of his apartment one by one.

When they were all gone, someone shut the door behind them leaving just Ross and Rachel in the apartment once again. Silence went by as he simply looked at Rachel, unsure of exactly what to say as she seemed to not want to be bothered at the moment.

"Um… sweetie would you still like that cup of tea?" he offered.

Immediately she spun around and gave him a cold look. "Don't you think you've done enough?" she shot back.

Now Ross was beginning to get a little irritated. He's taken a week of non-stop criticism and though he understands why, she was really pushing his limits.

"Look Rach, I know you're feeling miserable but don't you think you've been incredibly short with me lately?" he asked in the best non-accusing way possible.

"Well maybe I wouldn't be so short with you if you weren't so annoying."

"Are you kidding? How have I been annoying to you? I've done everything you've asked me to do for the past week," he quipped.

"Ugh! You know, I just don't even want to be around you right now!" she huffed, crossing her arms.

Ross raised an eyebrow. "You want me to leave?"

"Actually yes I do," she grumbled, turning her back to him.

He couldn't help but have a small smirk on his face. He knew she needed him, she was just too stubborn to say it.

"Alright then," he said, deciding to play along. He grabbed his jacket off a hook and slipped it on, nearing the door before turning back to face her. "You sure you want me to leave?"

"Yes, leave already," she mumbled from the couch.

"Last chance for me to stay…" he toyed, reaching for the doorknob.

"I said leave," she repeated.

"Ok, I'll see you later then," Ross hummed. He slowly began opening the door, inch by inch, just waiting for her to react. Eventually he pulled the door completely opening, slowly taking his first steps into the hallway when he finally heard him.

"No wait! Ross don't leave me!"

He spun around, doing his best to keep a straight face, though he was all smiles on the inside. "What's that?" he played dumb.

"Please don't go!" she cried, attempting to get off the couch to get to him. "I'm sorry! I need you! I love you! Don't leave me!"

Chuckling, Ross stepped back into the apartment, closing the door behind him. He quickly moved to sit on the couch next to her, gently pulling her into a hug. "Shh, it's ok. I'm not going to leave you."

"I'm sorry," Rachel whispered quietly, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I know you are," he responded, kissing her on the forehead. "If it's not too much to ask, do you think you can be just a little nicer to the people around you?"

"I can't help it, this baby is driving me insane!" she exclaimed, making him chuckle again.

"Do you want me to call Dr. Long and set us up an appointment later today?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes please."

He smiled, giving her a small kiss on the cheek. "Ok, you sit tight and try to get comfortable. I'll go give her a call," he said, reaching over and grabbing the phone.

…

"So, seven days late, huh?"

"Yeah."

"You must be getting a little uncomfortable," Dr. Long commented as she continued with the quick little examination.

"Oh, you know… just a tad…" Rachel answered, sharing a look with Ross.

The two of them watched as Dr. Long felt around Rachel's stomach area, gently pressing on different areas. "You're eighty percent effaced," she determined a moment later, removing her glove. "You're on your way, but it still could last a little while longer."

"Um, how long exactly?" Ross asked from the side.

Dr. Long laughed a little. "That bad, huh?" Both of them nodded at the same time, making her laugh again. "Well, if you're anxious, there are a few ways to help things along. Just some home remedies, but I've found that some of them are very effective."

"Well, we're ready to try anything," Rachel commented as Dr. Long turned around, picking up a brochure off the counter.

She smiled. "Ok, well there's an herbal tea you can drink. You can take some castor oil, and you can also try eating spicy foods…"

"Great, we will do all of those," Rachel said.

"… Taking a long walk…"

"Good, done," she said, nodding.

"… And there's the one that's proved most effective… sex," Dr. Long concluded.

"Uh-um, s-sex?" Rachel stuttered, sharing the same look as Ross.

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"No, no, no problem. Sex is fine," she replied, putting on her best smile as she accepted the brochure being handed to her.

"Alright, well then I'll let you two on your way. If you need anything else, just let me know," Dr. Long smiled.

"Thank you doctor," Ross thanked. Dr. Long gave them both a nod before leaving the room, leaving them alone.

An awkward moment of silence fell between them as Rachel cleared her throat and raised the brochure.

"Um… I guess we should start trying there right away," she suggested.

"Oh right, yeah, let's go," Ross nodded, taking the brochure from her and helping her off the medical berth and out the door.

…

About an hour later, Ross and Rachel found themselves back in their living room, plates of different foods and drinks in front of them.

As Ross was eating his own food, Rachel frustratingly put her fork down on her plate.

"Ugh… Ross, none of this stuff is working!" she exclaimed.

"Did you finish your tea?" he asked, pointing at her cup.

She picked up and lifted it, flipping it upside to show that it was gone. "Yup."

"You didn't finish your enchiladas," he pointed out, looking at her unfinished plate.

"Ross, I told you I'm not feeling anything!" she countered.

"Ok here, try this pepper," he said, handing her the red fruit.

Rachel took a large bite out of the pepper, chewing on it slowly as Ross looked. She felt a little spice, but it still wasn't enough.

"Anything?" he asked.

She shook her head and put the pepper down. "Nothing, I'm still feeling nothing!"

Ross ran a hand through his hair as he turned around and grabbed the brochure to look over again. One of these remedies has to work, and he was determined to find it, for Rachel's sake and his own sanity.

"Maybe we missed something?" Rachel asked, peering over his shoulder.

Ross shook his head. "No, we've done everything. Foods, drinks, oils, activities. We did all of them… except one…"

She perked. "Really? Which one?"

He scratched his head. "Um… sex."

"Oh," she said, looking down shyly.

Neither of them shared a word for about a minute, both of them pondering the idea of sex. It was obvious that they should at least try it, but at the same time, were they ready?

"Rachel," Ross said out of nowhere, getting her attention.

"Um, yeah?"

"Have I ever told you that I love you?"

Rachel looked at him, confused. "Of course you have, but-"

She never got to finish her sentence as the next moment Ross was pressing his lips on hers, pulling her closer to him. Not knowing what was going on, she immediately pulled away.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"What do you think I'm doing?" he questioned back.

"I… I know what you're doing… but are you sure?" she asked hesitantly.

He smiled, taking her hands and looking into her eyes. "I'm sure. Rachel, I love you, and that's all I need to know for me to be sure."

"O-ok," she stuttered, a feeling of excitement overcoming her entire body.

Slowly, they came together again, their lips coming together like puzzle pieces as it started off slow and then went from there. As they kissed, Ross gently took her hand and stood them both up, slowly leading them back to their bedroom as her hands traveled over his body. It had been so long since either of them has done this, and they were both buzzing with excitement and anticipation.

As soon as they reached the bedroom, Ross immediately set her down on the bed, moving from her lips to her neck. She let out a moan, letting him know just how much she was enjoying this as her arms encircled his neck.

"Oh Ross…"

"I know, Rach it's been too long," he mumbled, moving back to her lips, though to his surprise she moved away.

"No," she said, looking at him with wide eyes as she clutched the side of her stomach. "I think my water just broke."

"What?" he asked, completely caught off guard. "Are you sure?"

Rachel bit her bottom lip and nodded slowly. "I think so."

Ross' eyes immediately lit up as he quickly helped her off the bed. "O-ok, um what do we need? Uh, I got the pillow and uh, where's the bag?" he asked in a hurry, grabbing a pillow from a nearby chair.

"The bag's in the living room," she responded, also frantically looking around for their things.

Quickly he took her hand and led her back to the living room, snagging the bag that was off to the side. "Um, ok I got the bag. You got the keys?"

"I got the keys," she answered rapidly, grabbing them off the counter.

Practically running towards the front door, they finally stopped to let reality sink in as they looked at each other, calming their breathing and nerves.

"Hey," Ross said, holding onto her hand as she stared up into his eyes. "We're going to have a baby."

"I know," she smiled, hints of tears appearing in her eyes. Slowly she brought her hands up to cup his face, kissing him passionately as he kissed back with just as much love and affection.

Breaking a moment later, they shared a loving look in both their eyes as their eye-contact never broke.

"I love you," Ross whispered quietly against her lips, making her smile.

"I love you too. So, so much," she replied, feeling her heart pound against her chest for the man who she now believed was the love of her life. She couldn't believe she had found someone as amazing and wonderful as him, and knowing that in a few hours, he was going to be the loving father of her baby.

"Let's go have a baby."

…

 **Author's note: Onto the epilogue!**


	25. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

A knock on the door sounded as Ross and Rachel turned to see all their friends quietly walking in, all their eyes lighting up as they stared at the small bundle cradled in Rachel's arms as she lay on the hospital bed.

"Oh my God," Monica awed, covering her mouth as she slowly neared. "Is that… is that…"

Ross and Rachel smiled at each other before turning back to the others.

"Everyone…" Ross began, letting them all come closer. "…we want you to meet… _Emma_."

All their friends' mouths opened in wide smiles as they all crowded around Rachel's bed.

"It's a girl?" Chandler asked, gently waving at the little baby.

Rachel nodded, unable to stop smiling. "It sure is."

"Hah! I knew it would be a girl! You owe me fifty bucks!" Monica pointed out Phoebe, making her roll her eyes.

"You want to hear her full name?" Rachel asked. Everyone nodded their heads as she looked down at her little bundle of joy. " _Emma Monica Green-Geller_."

Monica's mouth opened again as she brought a hand to her heart. "You named her middle-name after me?"

"You were the one who gave the name idea," Ross pointed out. "We wanted to name her middle-name after someone special to both of us, and that was you."

"Oh, thank you so much," Monica smiled, hugging her brother tightly. "I love you both so much."

"Do you want to hold her?" Rachel offered.

"Ok," she said, gently taking the baby from Rachel's hands. Monica stared at her in awe, unable to take her eyes off Emma's sleeping form. "Oh my God, she's amazing."

"It's incredible," Chandler commented as Monica handed her off to Joey. "One minute she's inside you and…" he checked his watch, "…forty-seven hours later, here she is."

"She looks so real!" Joey exclaimed, making everyone look at him strangely. "Oh, you know what I mean."

"Ok, my turn! My turn!" Phoebe insisted, gently taking the baby from Joey's arms. "Oh! Oh, you're so cute! Wow, she's so beautiful!"

"Just like her mother," Ross added. Rachel looked up at him with a loving look and he kissed her forehead sweetly.

As Chandler received baby Emma last, he smiled as he studied her facial features. "So, whose features are what?"

"Her eyes are definitely Rachel's," Ross said. "She's sleeping now, but when she's awake you can see how beautiful her big blue eyes are."

"Oh, but she has her father's mouth," Rachel added, taking her baby back from Chandler and gently cradling her in her arms. "Just look at how soft they look."

"Whose nose does she have?" Phoebe asked.

Ross and Rachel looked at each other and shrugged as everyone leaned in to get a closer look.

"Let's hope it's yours honey," Rachel said to Ross as she studied her baby's face. "If it's mine we're going to have some trouble later."

"You're in luck, it looks like Ross'," Monica determined as everyone looked at her strangely. "What?"

"How do you know that?" Ross questioned.

"Mom showed me photos," she replied, answering his question.

Just then one of the nurses came in, knocking on the door to get their attention. "Is this a bad time?" she asked.

"Oh no, please come in," Rachel said.

"Ok, if you're well enough to walk Ms. Green, we'd like to give you and the baby an examination to make sure everything's good," the nurse said.

Rachel gently put Emma in the little crib provided by the hospital as Ross helped her to her feet. With a kiss on the cheek, she followed the nurse out of the room, pushing the mobile crib along in front of her. Her four friends watched her leave with large smiles on their faces.

"So, how does it feel to be a father?" Joey asked Ross afterwards.

"I already was a father. Ben, remember?" he reminded.

"Right, how does it feel to be a father a second time?" Joey corrected.

Ross couldn't help but smile. "Honestly, it feels better than the first time. My first little girl, and not only will I get to be around her all the time, I get to raise her with Rachel by my side."

"Aww, you guys are going to be one happy family," Monica coed.

"Any plans for the future then?" Phoebe asked.

Ross thought about it, unconsciously touching his pant pocket, and a smile appeared on his face. There was one last thing that would make this day perfect, and he knew exactly what he had to do.

"There is one… but I'll need you guys to help me out with it."

…

After her examination, Rachel slowly made her way back to her room, gently pushing Emma's crib in front of her. She couldn't help but peer down at her baby girl. Part of her still couldn't believe she was hers and that she had really gone through the whole pregnancy stage, but the other part of her was ecstatic, not only because she now had a beautiful daughter to care and love, but because she was going to share that care and love with the love of her life.

Slowly approaching her room, the first thing she noticed was that the lights were much dimmer than before. Not thinking too much about it, she opened the door and entered the room, and immediately her breath was taken away.

Dozens of small candles were lit all around the room, emitting a humbling, romantic atmosphere. Soft music played in the background as scattered all across the floor were small white lilies, the flames from the candles dancing along its pedals and right in the middle of it all was Ross, smiling widely as he held his hands behind his back.

"Ross, what is all this?" she asked, still in awe at what he had done to her simple hospital room. Instead of answering, however, he completely caught her off guard when he got down on one knee and from his hidden hands behind his back he produced a single velvet box which made her heart skip a beat. "Oh my God!" she cried, immediately tearing up as her hands flew to cover her mouth.

"I know it's not the proposal I had originally planned for you, but I think the alterations work well," he joked lightly, making her laugh a little.

"Ross, wh-why are you doing this?" she stammered, blinking away tears, though they just reappeared moments later.

"Because I love you Rachel. I always have, and I always will," he replied, small hints of tears appearing in his eyes as well.

"Rachel, looking back, we've been through everything together. We've dated, we've broken up. We married, we divorced. We were friends with benefits, and we had our fallout, and now, we have a beautiful baby girl that we made together. Out of all the things we've been through, we still managed to stay together. We were meant to be with each other. I've never loved anyone as much as I love you, and every day that I'm with you, I feel like my love for you grows. You're the most beautiful and most caring person I've ever met and our daughter is going to have the most wonderful mother in the world."

Ross took a moment to dry his tears on his sleeve, catching his breath in the meantime while Rachel's tears never stopped flowing from her eyes. With a deep breath, he looked up and stared into her gorgeous blue eyes, knowing everything he's said has come straight from his heart and only his heart.

"Rachel, we've always been more than just friends; you're the love of my life and the woman of my dreams, and I can't imagine my life without you and I can't imagine our daughter growing up without a proper family. Rachel Karen Green, will you marry me?"

Ross lifted the lid of the velvet box, revealing a beautiful diamond ring. For a moment, Rachel couldn't move, her eyes filled with tears as she stared at the man in front of her proposing.

"Yes…" she whispered quietly, wiping away her flowing tears. "Yes! Yes, I will marry you!"

Without a second to spare, Ross stood up and immediately they connected in a kiss they will never forget. Their first as an engaged couple. Their first for a new beginning.

"I can't believe you did all this," she said, still in awe as he slipped the engagement ring onto her finger.

"Well, I had a little help from our friends," Ross admitted, making her laugh gently as they held each other in each other's arms.

"Look Emma, mommy's engaged!" she exclaimed to her sleeping daughter, showing her the engagement ring. "I don't think she understands quite yet."

"She will, and she'll see what an amazing mother she has," he said.

She smiled. "And she's going to see an even better father."

They kissed once more before Rachel rested her head against his chest, hearing his heart beat in sync with the music.

"I love you," she whispered, pouring her heart into those three little words.

"I love you too," he whispered back, slow dancing with her to the soft music in the back, with their baby daughter right next to them.

Just like one happy family.

He was right; they are more than just friends.

They're a family.

…

 **Author's note: And that concludes** _ **More than Just Friends**_ **! I hope you all enjoyed as much as I enjoyed writing it. Special thanks once again to Soumi97 and Sylvannas for the 'behind the scenes' help. Be sure to leave a review on the story and leave any feedback you wish for me to hear.**

 **By the way, happy new year everyone! Technically this story is late so I guess my new year resolution is to set deadlines I can actually make. On that note, the next story should be out soon so be sure to follow me as the author so you can get updates on when I publish new stories.**

 **Thanks again for all the support guys. I really appreciate it. I'll see you all next time.**

 **~ FE**


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